Ginny Weasley and the Very Secret Diary
by RJ Hunt
Summary: Young Miss Weasley was always on the fringe of the trio in the original series. How is her world changed when Harry Potter becomes her brother's best friend? Who does she befriend in her year? What does the Sorting Hat whisper to her? What does Riddle say that allows him to possess her? Not simple scenes from Ginny's POV, a complete story running parallel and tandem to Harry's own.
1. Chapter One: Broomsticks and Fireplaces

Chapter One:

Broomsticks and Fireplaces

Under the window, where Errol and visiting owls could come and go, the air was crisp. The sun was just beginning to burn away the morning dew on the grass. However, sitting in the shadow of the Burrow, the name of her family home, Ginny couldn't feel any of the sun's warmth as she waited for the day's post.

Being chilled was a small sacrifice to have this solemn time to herself. Most mornings she rose early and met her mum in the kitchen to help prepare breakfast. Lately however, she'd taken to keeping vigil here at every opportunity.

Her vigil appeared to pay off today. She saw three owls flying in the distance, at first from different directions but eventually their flight paths aligned.

Errol came back with nothing. Ron had sent him out with a letter to Harry Potter, as he had many times this summer, but once again returned with no reply. Errol flew through the open window and landed in the spacious perch inside.

The next owl to arrive was Hermes, Percy's gift for becoming a prefect at Hogwarts. Percy, the third eldest Weasley who was starting his sixth year at Hogwarts, had been writing secret letters to an unnamed individual all summer. Hermes did return with a reply. Ginny didn't bother to try to find out who his correspondent was. She wasn't interested and besides, Percy had apparently instructed Hermes to guard his letters, much to the twins, Fred and George's dismay.

Hermes flew through the window, and landed on the owl perch to rest as well. Unlike Errol however, he enjoyed walking up and down it's many posts and crawls, whereas poor Errol, the elderly family owl, would only drink some water and then lean against one of the posts to pass out asleep.

The last owl to approach the house carried only the _Daily Prophet_. Ginny's dad had a monthly subscription so after she removed the wizarding paper from the lacings on the barn owl's leg it immediately took off again on its way to its next delivery.

Ginny tossed the paper through the window and onto the couch in the Burrow's sitting room. The letter she was looking for did not come with the morning's mail.

Traditionally, potential Hogwarts students received their invitation letter and sent their reply as to whether or not they would be attending around their eleventh birthdays. Ginny's birthday however, fell right into the roughly six weeks between when the letter would already be past due at the end of July and the cutoff date in September that forced all students, Muggle or wizard, to wait to begin school the following year.

It was now half-way through July and her eleventh birthday was less than a month away, but the reply was due in nearly two weeks. If Ginny didn't get her invitation soon, it meant she either wasn't deemed magical enough to attend Hogwarts, or that she would have to unfairly wait another full year before she could go.

Trying to tell her mum or dad about her worries over the letter was nearly impossible. With so many people in the house, Ginny rarely got a word in edgewise unless all her brothers were outside. Quite different than when she was alone with her mother all year long while they were at school and their father at work.

It was ok up until last year when Ron, the youngest Weasley brother, who was just a little over a year older than Ginny, started at Hogwarts. Ron was twelve now and beginning his second year this fall. Being the youngest and the only kid in the house during that time was very lonely. She couldn't stand the idea of having another year of hearing about what her brothers were getting up to and learning or getting into trouble for without being a part of it.

Whenever Ginny could broach the subject of her missing letter, neither one of her parents seemed anywhere near as bothered as she was. They weren't the sort of parents who tried to solve every problem for their kids, probably because there were so many of us Ginny thought.

Mum did her best she supposed. Teaching Ginny not only Muggle primary school lessons, but the incantations household charms, and proper pronunciation of verb conjugations in the magical language as well. Even if Ginny only practiced wand and wrist movements with a fresh cut switch from outside, she was at least much better at her Greek and Latin pronunciation than she used to be, better than Ron even.

Ginny hated the switches that she practiced with. No matter how short she cut them they always felt too wobbly and messed with her wrist movements, meaning her mum would make her do them over and over again until she got them right with the makeshift wand. Ginny's mum had promised her a brand new wand of her own when she started at Hogwarts. She was also promised brand new school robes, and a small pet of her own too since she couldn't take Abellio.

Bill and Charlie, who've both already graduated Hogwarts, usually sent a small pile of gold in the middle of summer to help out with all the school supply shopping and this time they both had sent more than usual knowing four younger brothers and a sister were attending this year. Last year, Charlie had helped by sending his old wand to Ron as a gift as well.

With only two graduated brothers, there just weren't enough hand-me-downs to go around. She was glad that girls' wizard robes differed from guys' robes a bit and that she didn't get hand-me-downs in those at least. Everything else was going to need to be purchased second-hand though, books, cauldron, and potion scales.

Ginny listened for sounds of her mum bustling around in the kitchen and heard pots and pans being banged on the stove.

She carefully snuck around the side of the house. It was early yet. None of her brothers awake, not even Percy. She crept quietly, pressed close to the house, and stayed low under the kitchen windows in case her mother peered outside. When she got to the backyard she felt a bit more at ease and straightened.

Half-way across the yard one of the chickens noticed her and lead the whole lot of them towards her in a flurry. She reached into the front pocket of her green-hooded jumper, a hand-me-down from the second eldest Weasley brother, Charlie, and opened a small bag of feed she'd retrieved earlier that morning. Before the birds had a chance to become noisy, she tossed them their breakfast.

The wild quail and sparrows came for their share as well and Ginny, anticipating them, tossed them some seed from a second bag. She kept half of each bag, carefully re-tied each of them, and put the bags back into the front pocket of her jumper. Satisfying the Burrow's sentries, she hurried to the family broom shed. She was eager to go flying and her brothers were only home with their superior brooms for two months during the summer holiday.

There were three brooms in the shed, one of them was originally a hand-me-down from Arthur, Ginny's dad, and it now belonged to Ron. It was an old Shooting Star, previously used by Percy, and before him Bill, the eldest.

The other brooms were both Cleansweep Fives, not as good as the Cleansweep Seven out now and nowhere near in league with the Nimbus 2000, but the best the Weasleys owned. The Cleansweep Fives belonged to Ginny's older twin brothers Fred and George. Fred and George were fourteen and starting their fourth year at Hogwarts this fall, both of them had previously made their house Quidditch team and Charlie, who used to be a Quidditch captain, chipped in with Bill to get them their very own brooms to play on so they didn't have to use old school ones. These were what Ginny looked forward to when her brothers came home on holidays.

Ginny grabbed the one on the left this time, she used the one on the right the day before and she wanted to get a good feel between the slight differences between two brooms of the same model.

Ginny loved flying and loved watching Quidditch but was rarely allowed to play or practice with her brothers. She didn't have a broom of her own and they weren't keen on standing around on the ground taking turns either. Mum said it was a boy thing, and that Ginny could use the Shooting Star all she wanted when they were away at school.

Up until last year, she had to sneak out when Ron wasn't around to notice to get a chance. Riding his broom in peace was the only consolation she had had while all her brothers were away at school and even though she knew she would have that advantage again if she didn't attend Hogwarts this year, the old Shooting Star's ride wasn't worth missing out on learning magic with her own wand.

Quick before anyone at home missed her, she mounted the broom and took off through the rows of trees in the orchard. Stopping at a tree that held quite a few ripe apples she paused to take out the drawstring bags she had used for the chickens and garden birds and looked for two of the biggest apples she could find to fit inside them. Tying them closed and putting them back in her pocket and she jumped back onto her borrowed broom and took off again.

She stayed below the trees' canopy so Muggle villagers wouldn't see her and when she got near a grove bordering the Weasleys land and the neighbors, she slowed down to wind her way slowly over briars and under branch hangings at the grove entrance. Once inside she practiced her acceleration and braking while rising, diving, and turning.

The trees inside the grove were very old and had many thick branches spread far apart from each other making maneuverability fairly easy for the practiced rider. When she felt confident enough with the controls she looked for squirrels to chase up and down through the branches.

The little grey squirrels were quick and very agile, bounding from one branch to another, racing around tree trunks, and even jumping from one tree's branch clear over to the wisps of another's. Once, a couple of years back, a squirrel missed, and Ginny dove for it before it hit the ground. At the time, she was riding Ron's old Shooting Star though, and never would have caught up. Luckily it managed to snag a branch a bit further down the tree with its front paws and didn't seem any worse for the wear when it scampered away. After that incident, Ginny didn't chase them quite so closely, but rather followed them along the trunks and branches as they scurried away.

She never knew which path they would follow and often laughed out loud when they out maneuvered her. When she was younger they got away from her easily but just this past summer Ginny found herself nearly able to brush their tails without even seeming to try while riding one of the Cleansweeps.

After more than a quarter of an hour of practice with the squirrels, Ginny took a break and landed on the ground. Panting slightly and holding a stitch in her side from the constant balance corrections while in the air. The squirrels began to edge down the trunks towards the ground, their stomachs heaving as well. Ginny clicked her tongue and looked around for Abellio, a rare black squirrel she'd found as a pup, (or a kit, she still wasn't sure what the correct term was).

Three years ago, Abellio had been wandering around in the apple orchard in late March when there was still snow on the ground; easily seen with his black fur. Ginny had scooped him up and, not being able to locate a single other squirrel in the area, had taken him straight home. Allowing him to go outside as he pleased all summer in order to let him learn to be on his own.

The following fall of that same year, Ginny had taken him farther and farther away from the house until she finally introduced him to the tree grove. After a few days had passed, Abellio stopped coming back to the Burrow. Ginny had always been able to find him in the tree grove though.

She waited patiently and sure enough, Abellio came down from his tree and when Ginny produced seed and grain in her hand he came over and sat down right beside her. She threw the chicken and bird feed out to the other squirrels, and placed a small pile in front of Abellio leaving the apples inside the bags for later. When her seed supply was gone, she reached over and stroked the fur on the top of Abellio's head.

Ginny knew better than to pick him up or to give him a good scratch anymore, living out in the grove he'd more than likely picked up all the bugs and parasites that her mother spelled off animals before letting them come into the house.

Her breathing returned to normal and she waited for the squirrels to moved away and forage elsewhere after they'd gathered all the feed she'd thrown them in thanks for her practice. She got on her broom again, whereupon the remnant squirrels scurried away. She headed to the other edge of the grove, opposite the Weasley's apple orchard.

Over there was a paddock with four horses in it. Two bright bays, a young flea bitten grey, and an old sorrel. All of them seemed gentle. Ginny knew the neighbor girl who took care of them went away to Muggle university in the winter, but didn't see her nearly as much the past couple of summers as she'd had in years before.

She put up her hood, and flew slowly and low in the tree line running parallel to the paddock to a vantage point she knew well. There, she spied the cars in the neighbor's driveway. All of them were gone, including the one belonging to the girl who came outside to see to the horses. Ginny thought the girl may have gotten a job where she worked in the village, and that was possibly why she wasn't in the pasture as often during the summers anymore.

When she was sure no one was home, Ginny flew back to the back of the paddock, the part that went into the tree grove and provided shade for the horses and again clicked her tongue calling the animals toward her like she had seen the Muggle girl do many times before.

The two bays trotted right up to Ginny, by now accustomed to seeing her on her flying broomstick. Together the three of them raced out to the tree line and then clear of it; the bays tossed their heads and would whinny their excitement at the race.

The other two horses always looked on from a distance. The old sorrel occasionally following their progress with her head, the younger grey timidly keeping the sorrel between herself and Ginny as Ginny played with the bays.

The grey wasn't new so much anymore, and she wasn't untrained either. Ginny almost got her to take an apple a few weeks ago, but it had stayed far away since then. The sorrel on the other hand, didn't seem to be afraid nor to particularly care for Ginny. The old sorrel grazed where it wanted and would let Ginny approach, let her pet it, and even took apples when they were offered but for the most part left well enough alone. One time Ginny saw the sorrel take off running across the paddock and chase a fox back into the tree grove, but the old girl had immediately settled down after that.

Ginny always kept an eye on her when playing with the bays. The old sorrel paid attention to everything and could hear Muggle cars coming from a long way off. She tended to point her ear at the road before turning her head to look at a passing vehicle, giving Ginny just the right amount of time she would need to turn and fly back into the trees. For now though, the old sorrel was grazing contently.

Ginny turned her broom for another race with the bays. She loved watching them run, they looked so free and powerful and confident and proud; she wasn't sure what her neighbors used them for. She knew the timid grey was for jumping, as was what the old sorrel used to do. She also knew that the bays were geldings and the other two were called mares. She didn't know any of their names though. Whenever the neighbor girl was out in the paddock with them Ginny could never hear her call them by name.

The sun was starting to really warm the air by now, Ginny got down from the broom and one of the bays walked up to her and bumped his nose against her sweater pocket. Feeding the horses was special to Ginny, just like when she fed Abellio, and she didn't want to have to run back into the trees if a Muggle car approached so she laid the broom on a patch of dry grass. She got out the drawstring bags and pulled out one of the apples.

Both bays started tossing their heads up and down in anticipation. Ginny got out the other apple and put the empty bags back into her pocket. Holding one apple flat in each hand she fed them to both horses at the same time. She'd learned before not to feed them one after another, because no matter which was second fed it always stamped and bugled its frustration and Ginny needed the animals she visited to stay quiet while she trained on her broomstick.

Giving the bays a final rub on their foreheads, Ginny judged by the sun that she might have just enough time to get home before she was missed. She walked back into the tree line and mounted the broom, flew through the grove, zoomed down one of the orchard rows and landed right by the broom shed. She had just put the borrowed broom away and shut the door, her hand still on the handle when from around the corner came Percy.

Percy was the only brother who regularly got up as early as Ginny and their mum. Odd seeing him outside though, he usually stayed in his room and Ginny was normally able to sneak away and back whether he was awake or not.

"Don't even think about flying off on one of your little disappearing acts. Mum went upstairs to look for you after calling for you about a hundred times and sent me outside to stop you," said Percy. "Come on, she wants you to help with breakfast, she woke up Ron and the twins calling for you."

Miffed by his bossy tone, Ginny asked "Why can't you help her with breakfast?"

"I have N.E.W.T classes to prepare for, as you well know because I've been—"

"Yeah, and numerous more secret letters to write and send no doubt." She was getting better at cutting off her brothers as often as they normally did her. Her brothers always said she spoke nonstop and yet she was the one who was most often interrupted. She supposed it was unfair to practice on Percy though, who never resorted to such childish games.

Percy was fifteen going on fifty. He had become very tight lipped when she brought up his letters and they began walking back to the house in silence. Percy's birthday was coming up too, now that she thought about it, which meant he also fell into that small six week window of turmoil she was currently worried about.

"Hey Perce? . . . um, when did you get your invitation letter from Hogwarts? . . . When you turned eleven? Was it on your birthday? I mean, isn't your birthday after the reply no later than date? Did you get two letters or something that year? Because . . . " Ginny trailed off though, not really knowing how to say 'because she was worried' without sounding as fretful as their mum could get.

Percy though, paid little attention to Ginny's anguish and instead answered her questions directly, "Yes, I got two letters, one a couple of weeks into the summer holidays and the other with the supply list for first-years when Bill and Charlie got their lists." Percy's words should have cheered her up but this was already problematic for Ginny. It was past a couple of weeks into the school holidays and she still hadn't received anything.

"So, you didn't get any letter on your eleventh birthday at all?" implored Ginny, she wanted to be absolutely sure.

"No, and I should think not, my birthday is just days away from Hogwarts Express leaving King's Cross. It would be ridiculous to wait until the last minute like that. Both for us to shop, and the school administration paperwork I imagine," replied Percy shortly.

So what was taking so long for Ginny's letter to arrive? Today was the fifteenth of July, almost a whole month after everyone came back for the summer holidays this year.

The two of them reached the back door and went inside. With Percy right beside her, Ginny didn't put away the drawstring bags for chicken feed just yet and instead followed him into the kitchen. They rounded the corner and Percy went to see if Hermes had come back this morning while Molly, their mum, stood at the stove, a basket of eggs sitting on the counter beside her.

"Percy got to you before you took off, did he then?" Molly asked.

Ginny hesitated for a single heartbeat before saying, "Yes." She was about to ask if her mother wanted her to work on the toast to go with the eggs but was immediately interrupted.

"Really? Because the chickens didn't swarm me when I stood outside forty-five minutes ago looking for you in the yard when you didn't answer me from upstairs." Molly turned around so fast shouting "Accio!" while pointing her wand at Ginny, Ginny didn't have time to react. The two pouches zoomed out of Ginny's pocket and sped into Molly's waiting hand. "You don't need two pouches to feed the chickens dear. You were off at the neighbor's house, visiting those Muggle work animals again weren't you? I suppose you were flying with them again? How many times must I tell you that you could be _SEEN_?"

"But I wasn't!" Ginny began.

"How can you be sure?" her mother's eyes bored into Ginny.

"I . . . I flew close to the house and made sure there weren't any Muggles cars in the drive first," Ginny muttered quietly, "nobody was home."

"YOU FLEW CLOSE TO THE HOUSE?" Molly's nostrils began to flare at this point. Luckily Arthur Weasley, Ginny's dad, strolled in from work at this moment.

Arthur collapsed into a chair at the kitchen table. Molly began to shout at Arthur about his daughter. That she had taken the Weasley Crown of Mischief already this morning and how the rest of the day ought to be smooth sailing because there was no way Molly was going to tolerate something worse from one of the boys during the rest of it.

Ginny miserably sat down next to her dad, eyes lowered listening to her mum relate her 'shenanigans' to her father. She stared at a spot on the surface of the table where George had stabbed it with a fork when he had been a toddler and had left four tiny indentations in the surface.

Her mum could easily fix household furniture when it was broken by the kids but every now and then she chose not to. She called them little inconspicuous mementos from when the kids were little. All the kids were allowed to do whatever they wanted to their rooms but these special sorts of marks were all over the common areas of the house.

There was a small wisp of a burnt spot on the book shelf in the living room that Molly had left behind when sanding the marks off magically, after Bill nearly torched her collection. If you opened the pantry door, on the inside of it was a drawing Charlie did once when he was young of a sinewy black dragon.

In a corner near the counter for the sink on the floor were orange paint drips from when Ron messily painted the logo for his favorite Quidditch team.

Fred had accidentally made a dent on the front of the house outside, now hidden behind a bush, with an apple from the orchard tossed to him by George when they were pretending to hit Bludgers. That was before the two of them made their House Quidditch team. Applesauce had covered the side of the house and Ginny's mum had used a water charm to rinse it off but she left the dent the apple made.

Even Percy had ink spills on one of the end tables from when he was learning to write with a quill. Ginny glanced over at the living room picture window where, if you looked carefully enough, there was a small perfect handprint from when she was little and waiting for her dad to come home. She had stuck her greasy hand on the pane, and instead of cleaning it off her mother cast a protective charm over it to seal it to the window, so even if you cleaned the handprint remained.

After Molly finished catching Arthur up on Ginny's latest attempt to break the International Statute of Secrecy, her dad turned to her and asked how she knew nobody saw her. Put on the spot, Ginny realized how foolish her response was going to sound, but ploughed on anyway.

"One of the horses is an old mare; I think she's the leader. Anyway, she wasn't disturbed by anything outside the paddock the whole time I was there." Ginny went on to explain to her father how the mare constantly flicked her ears and turned her head to the road and how Ginny had learned to trust the mare's body language. She also went into more detail of how gingerly she'd approached the house and spied on the cars that would sit in the driveway.

Her father asked her for what seemed the millionth time if she realized how important it was not to do anything where Muggles could see you perform magic, like riding a broomstick, while no one was around to fix their memories. Eventually, Ginny was grounded for a week and told to clean the giant fireplace in the living room after breakfast.

She was quiet during breakfast and when Ron finally stumbled downstairs he asked if Errol had returned with anything for him. Percy had come back in after Molly finished preparing breakfast and gave him the disheartening news that Harry Potter had failed to reply yet again. This launched the twins, who'd come downstairs right after Ron, into talking about what had happened at Hogwarts at the end of the school year once more.

When the boys had come home they hadn't stopped talking for days about a teacher who'd died trying to attack Harry Potter. Even Percy said it was true.

Ginny had seen Harry Potter twice now in person. Once last fall when Ron left for his first year and then again when Ginny and her mum picked the boys up at King's Cross Station in the spring. Ginny didn't know it was Harry Potter the first time she'd seen him, but he had asked her mother very politely how to get onto the platform for the Hogwarts Express.

Ginny suspected he was Muggle-born at the time but was still surprised he didn't have any parents with him. It was only after he had gotten onto the train that the twins had bounded back down to the platform, after stowing their own luggage, claiming they helped Harry Potter with his trunk. Mum wouldn't let Ginny get onto the train to see him though, actually she didn't let her out of her sight the whole time they were in London. Afterwards, Ginny had heard her mother saying that Harry Potter lived with some of his Muggle relatives and that it was a shame they must've just dropped him off.

When Ron got off the train that spring, Harry Potter and a girl Ginny supposed was Hermione Granger, from Ron's descriptions in the letters he wrote, were with him. They didn't get an introduction though. Harry Potter's Muggle relatives took him straightaway. As soon as the Weasleys got into their Muggle car, Molly asked Ron what really happened with Harry Potter and that teacher.

Ron told everyone all about Hermione saving them from the Devil's Snare, which sounded dangerous and Ginny couldn't believe first-years dealt with plants like that. He also told them about the flying keys and how he beat the Deputy Headmistress's transfigured-to-life chessmen.

That hadn't surprised Ginny. Dad had taught them all how to play chess and Ginny was pretty good at it, about on par with Bill. She even beat Percy quite often. Charlie and the twins didn't care much for it, but Ron surprised everyone at his skill from a young age. Ginny hadn't seen him lose in years, even when he played against their great aunts and uncles at family reunions.

Ron apparently even won when he was knocked out in a game too, because during the race to the Sorcerer's Stone Harry Potter got to make the last checkmate move and he and Hermione moved on to the next obstacle. Harry Potter had sent Hermione back though to get help, and took on some form of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named by himself at the end. Whatever happened, that professor he met down there couldn't hurt Harry Potter and had died trying to attack him while Harry Potter protected the Sorcerer's Stone.

It was for these reasons that Ginny felt very star-struck when Ron started writing letters to Harry Potter to ask him to come stay over the summer. Weeks went by though, and there was no word back. Even the twins were worried about him now, they had heard stories about how awful his Muggle relatives treated him and felt very protective of Harry Potter after he'd become the youngest and smallest member of their Quidditch team at school.

Ginny became even more star-struck when she learned that Harry Potter was the youngest Seeker on a Hogwarts Quidditch team in about a hundred years and that the Head of his House got all kinds of permissions granted to him to have a broom at school even though first-years aren't allowed to have them. Harry Potter didn't get just any broom either, he got a Nimbus 2000, the fastest broom in the world. If he did come to visit he would be bringing his Nimbus, and Ginny still couldn't think of a way to ask him to have a go on it without sounding like a complete dork.

When all her brothers left the breakfast table, Ginny stayed behind to help with the dishes. Molly was a great deal calmer now about Ginny's escapade this morning but she was still scrubbing the plates with more fierceness than was necessary. Until she came to a wooden spoon with rodent teeth marks on one end, another little inconspicuous memento.

Molly slowly examined the teeth marks, sighed, and then asked Ginny, "So, did you see Abellio this morning?"

Ginny smiled, and nodded yes, "He looked fine. He still lets me pet him and he sat down right beside me while he munched on the corn and bird seed." She looked up at Molly and said quickly, "I didn't pick him up or pet him any more than just a quick rub between his ears though."

It was Molly's turn to smile, "I know you know better than that by now," she glanced over at Ginny with a serious expression on her face, "it's the law I'm worried about you breaking, not rules," she said, pointing the soapy spoon at her as she spoke.

Ginny smiled again and let out her own sigh, one of relief. Her mum wasn't going to tell her off any more about this morning. Once her punishment was done, it would be done.

"Now go get out of that terrible jumper that makes you look like a hoodlum, put on some old clothes and comb your hair properly. Your father should have the fireplace ready soon."

Her mum hated jumpers with hoods, probably because many Muggles didn't care for them because the Muggles who did wear them weren't considered upstanding or some such thing like that. Ginny didn't care what it made her look like. It hid her face and especially her easily identifiable vivid red hair in case she did see Muggles, and it kept the rain off her head until she got home if it randomly started raining on the cloudy days.

Ginny decided long ago that she would never part with her hand-me-down hooded jumpers, they were the only anonymity she had. She never had outsider problems in the Muggle village, everyone knew she was that Weasley girl who lived outside of town with the family that kept to themselves. People she had never spoken to called her by name when saying hello, knowing she was the only girl child.

Upstairs, she was digging through her wardrobe to decide what to wear. Quite unusually for a wizard family, it was filled with mostly Muggle clothes like jeans, t-shirts and those hooded jumpers, which were slightly more durable than normal wizard wear. She didn't have much, gazing back and forth at what was hung there, so she always went to great lengths to take care of what she did have. Not that it really mattered, because her mum could easily fix just about anything that wasn't too mangled by an unruly girl.

Her parents at first thought it was odd that she often asked for t-shirts when browsing in thrift stores, but compared to her brothers, this peculiarity was the least of their worries. Ginny had hoped once that if she'd shown enough interest in Muggles, her father would agree to let her study in primary school with the rest of the kids her age from the nearby village. However, a few years ago her mother and father broke the news to Ginny that they just couldn't afford it with so many of her brothers attending wizard school.

Everyone Ginny knew had gone to wizarding school. She came from a very long line of wizards. Nobody in her family thought twice about whether or not she would be accepted at Hogwarts and then move onto some magical job like her graduated brothers have.

Bill, the eldest, worked for the nearest wizarding bank, Gringotts, in London. He was currently stationed in Egypt breaking curses that were protecting ancient tombs and collecting gold for the goblins that run the bank. He always writes with exasperation about the horrible ways in which Muggles have died trying to bypass the magical traps set by ancient wizards and about the Burke's, the family who oversaw many of his dig sites.

When Ginny was younger, her mum sometimes wouldn't let her read Bill's letters, fearing they would give her nightmares. Apparently, the days Bill was in any real danger were few and far between though. Most of his job required him pouring over maps or texts, and translating hieroglyphics and ancient runes into English, Latin, or Greek and figuring out how to disable the traps before even attempting to open the tombs. Whenever Bill would talk about work and go into detail about the curse traps he would pull out all these complicated charts and notes, all of which Ginny found very dull.

Charlie on the other hand, made Ginny's mum give a great worried sigh whenever he was mentioned. Charlie also lived abroad. These days Charlie stayed in Romania, where he worked with wild dragons. Last Christmas Ginny and her parents went to visit Charlie on the Longhorn reserve in Romania while Percy, the twins, and Ron stayed at Hogwarts for the holiday.

The Longhorns had very pretty golden horns. It appalled her that they had been slaughtered just for those horns so much so in the past that their population had dwindled down next to nothing.

Charlie explained that wizards use the horns in spells and potions, that the blood, hide, and some organs were also harvested, and that much of a hunted dragon is used for practical wizard purposes. They weren't simply making trinkets like when Muggles have similarly poached elephants or rhinoceroses to near extinction. Working at the reserve, everyone helps the main breeding program to bring back the Longhorn numbers.

Mollified only slightly, Ginny had continued her tour and instantly fell in love with the Peruvian Viper. She loved the way the light caught on the orangy-red, smooth copper scales, like campfire in the form of an animal. The Peruvians were so cute and tiny compared to other dragons, the adults not getting much taller or longer than her father's Muggle car.

Smiling, she told Charlie this was the enclosure where she'd spend most of her time if she worked here like he did and she would want to focus on breeding these adorable little guys. Charlie had laughed and told her that everyone who worked on the reserve stayed as far away from the Peruvians as possible because one of their most preferred food sources were people.

Sure enough, glancing back at the enclosure two of them had come up close and had eyed Ginny with such intensity, she could feel her heart begin to hammer in her chest. At the time, everything around her had been drowned out and for a moment, all she could see in the world were their faces, taking in her every move.

Charlie had broken the predator-prey spell when he spoke and pointed out their small fangs, telling Ginny that even if you did manage to evade one, getting nicked by one of those was still more lethal than the same thing happening from one of the other breeds.

Charlie worked with the bolder dragons, similar the Romanian Longhorns, that needed many highly trained and strong wizards such as the Norwegian Ridgebacks, Hungarian Horntails, and the Ukrainian Ironbellies of which he said there was a rumor of one in the depths of Gringotts even though Bill wouldn't confirm it. Charlie looked at Ginny with a sly smile though and said Bill hasn't denied it either. Ginny had just shaken her head, already well-aware of how her brothers teased each other, and her for that matter.

Ginny's dad wanted to see what Charlie did on a daily basis, and Charlie put his mother slightly at ease when he said that his team mainly just studied the dragons' lives. Ever since Dumbledore discovered the twelve uses of dragon's blood, whatever they were, the wizarding world has been adamant about studying dragons and finding out what other uses their magical properties could achieve.

Back in her room, after reflecting on that memory, the knot Ginny had been carrying in her stomach all summer began to tighten at the thought that she herself might never get to learn what the twelve uses of dragon's blood were.

She hastily threw her hair into a ponytail. It was finally getting long, so she managed a few braid plaits, more to keep it from getting too dirty rather than for any sense of style, as she'd been taught to braid for. She hung her jumper in the back of her wardrobe again and put on a pair of shorts that were once trousers for Bill when he was small enough to fit in them and picked out one of Percy's old boring shirts. She dug around in a drawer and found one of her mother's old bandannas, saved just for dirty jobs like this, and headed back downstairs.

In the living room her father was reading the _Daily Prophet_ he must've found on the couch. Ginny went to the fireplace. Arthur had temporarily disconnected it from the Floo network so that she wouldn't be accidently interrupted by anyone who may come through while she was standing inside it for the next few hours.

Not that anyone ever came by. Occasionally, the wizards who lived in the area popped in, or just their heads sometimes, magically through the fire but most people Apparated into the Burrow's designated field a little way away from the house and then walked up to knock on the back door.

Brushing soot and ashes from the grate and heaving it out onto the floor made the already tired muscles in Ginny's stomach and arms shake but she managed it. She pulled her bandanna over her face up to her eyes and proceeded to brush the ashes into a bucket, one dustpan at a time.

Her mother kept the ashes, using them in the garden in some places or made a harsh soap for cleaning by mixing them with water and boiling them with animal fat and salt. Some of them, her mum sprinkled in the pond outside to keep away algae, and she also used the ashes to polish the little bit of silver the Weasleys owned when she made it into a paste with water.

After that was all collected Ginny began scrubbing the soot off the stones making up the walls of the fireplace inside and out, as high as she could reach. This part took the longest, and she whiled away the rest of the morning and was well and into mid-afternoon before she was nearly finished.

While Ginny was working, Ron trudged downstairs with a letter in his hand. "Is that another letter for Harry Potter?" Ginny called from inside the hearth.

"No, this one is to Hermione, I want to know if she's heard back from Harry yet either."

Ron headed over to the owl perch. It used to be really small and didn't used to have a window. Errol never minded that, but Charlie, ever the animal lover, added onto it every summer he came home from school until he left for Romania and it was probably intricate enough now for twelve owls to roost comfortably.

Hermes, technically an adult but still a young owl, loved to wander up and down the poles as he stretched his wings. Percy's room just had a single perch, with barely enough room for Hermes to turn around on. Ginny could see why he acted disgruntled whenever Percy carried him upstairs.

Mum once thought that the owl perch took up too much space, that two owls didn't need half the living room, even when Bill or Charlie visited and their owls were here, they didn't justify the square yardage. Her mum told her dad to tear some of it down when all the boys were at school last year, but Arthur simply magically expanded the living room walls, inside and out so it was permanent, to accommodate Charlie's carpentry.

"You shouldn't send Errol on another long trip like that," said Ginny. "He just got back from Surrey. Hermes came back this morning, I'm sure he wouldn't mind and for him it would probably be just a day trip. See if Percy will let you borrow him," she suggested.

Ron looked at Errol, asleep and slumped against a wall, so tired he couldn't even hold himself up. "Useless," Ron muttered and sat down on the couch, "I already tried to use Hermes. Percy left him alone to use the bathroom and I started tying my letter to his leg. The stupid bird didn't leave though. Percy came in and hollered at me for trying to 'steal' him. He took my letter off Hermes and tossed it back at me, saying he already told Hermes that he was nearly done with his next letter and that Hermes would be leaving again with it later after it was polished up. When I asked why Hermes couldn't take both letters he got all mad and said something about Hermione getting his letter and reading it. I told him Hermione would never do that, but his face got all red and he slammed his door in my mine."

Ginny made a face at her brother from within the hearth much like Percy does before pointing out something obvious, "If Hermes is so loyal that he wouldn't leave because Percy already had a job for him to do, he certainly wouldn't let Hermione or anyone else read a letter that didn't belong to them."

Ron considered this for a few seconds, then stood up with a determined expression and walked back upstairs with his letter.

Sometime later, Ginny was in the backyard with the grate pouring water onto it with a sponge. She repeated this over and over to rinse the soot off better than when she had brushed it off earlier, before finally scrubbing it clean. Suddenly, she heard shouting drift down from upstairs. Apparently, Percy's letters were so important to him that it didn't matter how much he trusted Hermes to protect them, he wasn't letting his owl make any unnecessary stops, period.

When Ron shouted for their mum to interfere Molly simply told him that Percy earned his owl by becoming a school prefect and could do with him as he pleased. Errol would be awake soon enough and Ron could use him then. Fuming Ron threw his arms into the air and stomped all the way back up to his room and slammed the door shut yelling about how nothing he ever did was important and that everything he ever gets to have or use is always rubbish.

When Ginny came back inside with the grate she heaved it back into the clean fireplace and wiped down the living room floor where the ash bucket sat earlier and where the grate had rested before it had been scrubbed. She even added the finishing touch of putting fresh firewood into the hearth ready to go and swept up the bits and pieces that fell off the chopped wood as she put them into the grate. Everything looked picture perfect when she'd finished.

Afterwards Ginny herself was a mess. Her clothes were dirty, her hands were grey, her nails were black underneath, she could feel her face smeared with soot, and her ponytail was falling out and hanging lopsided. All she wanted to do was fall down onto the couch and catch her breath but instead Molly entered the room and inspected the fireplace. Pleased, she let Ginny run back upstairs to finally shower, and change.


	2. Chapter Two: Ringlets and Freedom

Chapter Two: Ringlets and Freedom

After washing up, Ginny sat at her writing desk. Her dad had attached a mirror to the wall behind it a few years ago, so it also functioned as a vanity. She brushed her hair and toyed with different ways of putting it up, similar to how she saw girls in the village do. Many of them didn't wear theirs parted down the middle like how Ginny's fell on its own, but rather a side part.

Ginny pulled her comb along to make her own side part, but her hair kept trying to fall back into the middle one, no matter what she did she couldn't make it lie normal with the side part, and she wound up pulling it into a low ponytail halfway between the nape of her neck and the crown of her head. The ponytail held the part in place and it didn't look like a little girl mess nor like the style was too old for her.

She could just hear her mother's voice in her head, "I'm harping on you now to care about managing your hair and learning how to do it properly because I'm not going to be there at school to help or remind you." Yeah, well I won't have to worry about that if I never get my letter so I guess all of this is a waste of time Ginny thought to herself bitterly.

She was used to waking up early not only because she wanted to ride her brothers' brooms in peace, but because she had been trained every day since she was six to get dressed and fix her hair before presenting herself to her mum at breakfast.

Checking her hair from all angles one last time before going downstairs, Ginny noticed the very back of the side part closest to the ponytail was starting to disappear already. It was straightening, and looking loose. Normally when she ponytailed her hair, it all went straight back and the hair ties kept it in place out of shear resistance. However, with a side part, some of the tendrils had to curve a bit before neatly going into the hair tie. When it straightened, it loosened and flopped about.

How did Muggles deal with this problem? She wet down her comb with a water cup she kept just for this purpose on her desk, pulled the side part tight again and reworked the ponytail. Using some of the Muggle hairspray her mum got for her quite some time ago, Ginny waited for it to dry and finally satisfied, went back downstairs.

It wasn't fair, she thought to herself. Her brothers never had to present themselves. They just rolled out of bed and went on with their day. Molly only made them sit still long enough to cut their hair when it got too long and that was it. But her mum's words came back to her again, "I don't care if you want to think and act like a boy, you _like_ your long hair don't you? Then I expect you to take care of it, simple as that. Otherwise, it won't look right when you do want it to look nice, not without a lot of magic and you shouldn't have to whip your wand out for everything!"

If I ever get a wand, thought Ginny.

Downstairs she began to help set the table for dinner. When her mum glanced over she said, "Ginny, I love that ponytail. You should wear it more often."

Ginny explained the problems she found with it and her mum showed her a tricky little charm that was somewhat difficult to use.

"It's because everyone's hair is so different from everyone else's. I didn't master this charm myself until I was half way through third year and back then I could only do it on my own. One charm doesn't really manage all, so in the beginning there are variations for wrist movements for curly, straight, and wavy. Much better to use Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, you can comb it the way you want it to look and done."

Errol woke with all the noise downstairs at dinner time and afterwards Ron sent him out with his letter to Hermione. The old family owl didn't look like he wanted to go, but he drank a lot of water and then took off out into the darkening evening. Afterwards, Ron sat back down at the table so he could shout questions to whoever was within listening distance about his summer homework essays. The twins had gone back up to their room where, if you listened hard enough, you could hear small popping noises, and Percy had shut himself into his own room as well.

Ginny joined Ron at the table and pulled one of his books towards herself. She began leafing through the pages. " _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ . . . what's a snuff box?" she asked.

Ron seemed annoyed that his concentration was broken. "It's a little box Muggles keep this brown powdery stuff in that they inhale or chew to make them 'feel good in their heads.''' He shook his head, clearly not knowing what that meant any more than Ginny did. "Dad would probably know what it was called. There was a bit of it still left in most of our boxes at school and it smelled weird."

"You didn't ask what that meant in class?" Ginny would want to know details like that if she were learning about this stuff.

"We didn't have to know what that meant," replied Ron exasperatedly, "we only had to know what they looked like, so that's all anyone cared about."

She knew her brother only did as much as he needed in order to get by in lessons. That much was apparent when their mum taught them basic math and reading skills, instead of them going to the primary school in the village. Ginny, however, loved getting the minutiae details on the backgrounds of stories and lessons. Mundane as they feigned to be, the finer points made everything unique and interesting.

"And you had to turn a mouse into one?"

"Yeah, I mean, mine wasn't very good it still had whiskers. Not like Hermione's, which of course was perfect; but yeah, you got extra points if it looked pretty." Ginny grinned to herself and imagined her brother probably rolled his eyes in class at the mention of extra points.

Ginny never really got to see transfiguration magic. Most of what she was exposed to was potions, usually cleaning ones, and charms. Especially charms that made cooking and chores a whole lot easier.

She and her brothers didn't really have to do chores, not when their mother could do it all with a wave of her wand, but as they were all in trouble for one thing or another much of the time, they were all accustomed to helping out around the house with no magic. Ron still had to make up for all the yelling and stomping he did earlier today.

Ginny watched her brother run his hands through his hair in frustration, making it stick up more than it already was, "What are you working on?" she asked him.

"My potions essay. I'm starting with this one to get it out of the way. I don't need to give Snape an excuse to give me detention my first day back," said Ron. "He would love that too much," he muttered to himself.

"Why would he love it?" Ginny asked, picking up his potions book while Ron referenced his notes in his untidy scrawl.

"He loves to punish Gryffindors," Ron replied offhandedly at the same time trying to prepare his next sentence to write in his essay, "and to show favoritism to the Slytherins because he's a horrible git," was all the explanation Ron gave.

Every single one of Ginny's brothers, even Bill and Charlie, were Gryffindors, their mum and dad had also been sorted into Gryffindor back when they attended Hogwarts. Ginny didn't know how she would feel if she were sorted into a different house, especially Slytherin, if she ever got to go that is. She would be more of an outcast in her own house than she already felt.

Only girl child. Only girl Weasley in all of the extended family. Ron had his close friends now and paid more attention to his unanswered letters. The twins had each other like always. Even boring Percy had whoever he was sending secret letters back and forth to. No matter how much Ginny tried to take part in their interests, it seemed they thought she was either copying them to aggravate them or it didn't matter because she was just the little sister.

Her earlier thoughts echoed in her mind: everyone at home was positive Ginny was a witch and that it was a no brainer she would be attending Hogwarts this year with the boys. They probably even expected her to be a Gryffindor, but that nagging feeling came back. What if she wasn't? She knew math pretty well from Molly's elementary homeschooling and didn't think the odds of seven brothers and sisters all getting into the same house were very high. Glancing over at Ron, she remembered in one of his letters home last year, he described a boy in his dorm who thought he wasn't magical enough to go to Hogwarts for years because his family didn't ever see him do anything. That boy was from an all wizard family like Ginny, and nobody paid enough attention to her for a long enough time to even see if she was magical.

As much as Ginny did not miss Ron telling her how annoying she was for always trying to tag along with him, she was almost jealous of these friends of his that she didn't know. How is it Ron, of all her brothers, has a girl who is one of his best friends? Ginny had asked herself this question since just after Halloween last year after getting over the shock of Ron saving this Hermione from a mountain troll in the first place. Ron's letters began to include this Hermione more and more often. She was mentioned every time Harry Potter was.

Not for the first time, Ginny came to the conclusion that it must be Harry Potter who held the three together, and she tried not to resent Ron wanting to spend more time worrying about him than hanging out with his sister who was right here with him. After all, Ginny probably wouldn't be able to think of anything else either if world-wide known Harry Potter was her friend period, let alone best friend.

She put Ron's book back in the pile, he gave her an irked sigh warding off any more interrupting questions from her. One of Ron's brotherly ways of shooing away the annoying little sister. Ginny just raised her hands in mock surrender and headed upstairs to bed. Between the broomstick ride, cleaning out the fireplace, and worrying about her Hogwarts acceptance she went to bed more exhausted than she ever thought it was possible to be.

The following morning Ginny woke much later than usual. She could hear commotion going on downstairs and realized her brothers were already up and at breakfast. She hastily got dressed and went to throw her hair up in a ponytail. Hearing her mother's voice in her head made her pause though. She sat down, and again forced her hair into the side part with a low ponytail. After applying the Muggle hairspray, she headed down to the kitchen where she heard the twins making fun of Ron's dismal toast attempt.

As soon as Ginny stepped off the last step, she was scooped into a hug by Fred, "GINNY! We missed you! Just look at this _poison_ Ron is trying to feed us!" He brandished a half-burnt, half-undercooked piece of bread in front of her and looked over at Ron to see his expression while Fred made fun of him. Before setting Ginny back down Fred whipped his face back to hers and said, "Hey! Your hair smells good. Why does your hair smell good?"

Ginny dropped into a seat at the table and before she could answer, Fred's twin George had jumped up to smell her hair for himself. He tilted her head back so he could get his own whiff. Boys were so gross about that thought Ginny, I would never stick my nose right into something to see how it smelled.

"Kind of stingy in the nose, but good," agreed George, "did you put perfume in your hair or something? Why would you put perfume in your hair?"

Freed from her brother, so she could sit and eat normally, Ginny rolled her eyes and said, "It's Muggle hairspray not perfume. I'm training my hair to lie how I want it to, not how it wants to."

Molly rescued Ginny from the three blank stares her brothers gave her and said, "Ginny you look lovely. You boys leave her alone now, what she's doing is good practice for when she's at school."

"Hermione doesn't care what her hair looks like," commented Ron offhandedly. "All she cares about are books and learning magic and always knowing the right answer to every question a teacher asks."

"Yes, well knowing how to put in a good appearance never hurt anyone either, I can put mine into a nice do for the smart parties your father gets us invited to for the Ministry," said their mum, "You boys could use some practice yourselves."

"Ron could use some practice making a simple piece of toast," said Ginny, inspecting what her brother had made in her absence.

"I forgot to turn the bread over, that's all!" said Ron, "Sheesh, you'd think you'd get a little appreciation for even doing it!" He eyed Ginny when she sat down in front of the kitchen fire and began to make her own toast in the small cooking fire to go with her eggs and he went on, "Where have you been this morning anyway? You always help mum make breakfast."

"I was sleeping," said Ginny, "even servants get days off," she shot back.

"You wouldn't have been so tired if you weren't in trouble in the first place and had to clean out the fireplace. What did you do anyway? It must've been awful to make mum make you do that."

"Never you mind, Ron," said Molly, "Ginny is doing her punishment and that's the end of it."

"That's not fair!" said Ron, "She always knows why we're in trouble," gesturing around the table at the boys.

"That's because you holler about it at the top of your lungs the entire time you're being punished!" retorted their mother.

"Wait. She's _still_ doing her punishment?" asked Ron. He turned to goggle at Ginny, "What did you do?"

Arthur and Molly didn't ground the kids often, and Ginny had never been grounded in her life. She only knew that when her brothers were grounded, they hung around the house a lot. Smiling at Ron's puzzlement, Ginny began to eat without answering him. After the boys finished, Percy went back to his room and the twins and Ron went to ride their brooms in the Weasley's paddock near the orchard to practice Quidditch.

Ginny was nearly finished with her own breakfast, when there was a knock on the backdoor. Wizards usually knocked at the backdoor since it was closer to the Burrow's Apparition site, and Muggles knocked at the front door which was closer to the road and driveway. Curious, she went with her mother to go see who it was. Standing there, with a basket in one arm, stooped over a bit, petting and talking to their chickens, was one of their wizarding neighbors, the Lovegood girl.

Luna Lovegood was as recognizable by her hair as the Weasleys were by theirs. Hers was extremely long, down past her bottom, and pale yellow, almost white. It was also curly. Not so tightly curled as to look bushy, but great big ringlets which if she pulled back a bit at the top would have made her look like a princess. Ginny almost never saw Luna with her hair pulled up in anyway though. It was always down, sometimes over her shoulder but usually just cascading down her back.

Molly opened the door with a great big smile and walked out to hug Luna in hello. Luna looked up with her clear blue eyes and smiled her warm, unassuming smile she always gave everyone and hugged Ginny's mum in return.

"Did you walk all the way over here all by yourself?" Molly asked Luna when she looked around and didn't see anyone else."

"Yes." Luna never said anything more than was necessary.

"Whatever for dear?" asked Molly, full of concern and ushering her into the kitchen.

"Well, I tried to use the Floo network yesterday but I didn't go anywhere when I said the Burrow. I thought maybe I had said it wrong and tried again. Then I thought, maybe you changed the name of your homestead. So I decided to walk over here today and find out. But the sign outside still says The Burrow. Is your fireplace not working right now?" Luna inquired.

"No, dear it's fine, it's fine! We had it disconnected yesterday while . . . while Ginny cleaned it," Molly responded.

Luna walked over to the fireplace and inspected it herself. If you didn't know her you would've thought she was trying to see if you were being dishonest, but Luna has always done whatever she chose to satisfy her curiosity. "You did a very good job. I'm sure your mum is very proud of you," she said to Ginny.

If only Luna knew how proud mum was of me yesterday, Ginny thought to herself as she picked her plate up from the table and carried it over to the sink to begin washing the breakfast dishes her brothers had just left behind. (Mum said before to just be thankful that they at least carried them to the sink.)

"I am very proud of her, dear. Was there something you needed to come by for yesterday though?" Molly asked Luna.

Luna serenely turned away from the fireplace and looked directly at Molly, "I came to ask about three things," she said, "I was wondering if you had any spare eggs? A fox got into our chicken coop a few days ago. It killed all of our chickens and I was hoping to make a cake before term started."

"That's right, you are just a few months older than Ginny aren't you?" said Molly, getting into their ice box and putting eggs into Luna's basket, "Giving you eggs is the least I can do as you looked after our chickens while we were away to Romania last Christmas. Goodness you didn't walk over here every day in the snow did you?"

"No. Daddy let me use the Floo network to come over and back," said Luna matter-of-factly.

Perking up from the sink and glancing at Luna Ginny asked, "You used Floo powder by yourself?"

"Oh, yes," said Luna, "I only do so for short trips though. Daddy often finds it useful to send me with messages to writers to get their columns while he works at his printing press. Since it doesn't require a wand I can come and go without breaking the Reasonable Restriction for Underage Sorcery."

Molly pursed her lips, but didn't say anything. Ginny was astounded somebody so young traveled on her own so often. Luna's father is the editor of the Quibbler, which he prints out of his own home, and Luna is his only daughter. Young witches and wizards under the age of seventeen aren't allowed to do magic outside of school period.

Ginny thought about this though, they can, however, travel by Floo powder. Normally, an adult travels before or after them in accompaniment because it's cramped trying to get two or more people to go at the same time. Ginny still traveled with her mother but that was getting more and more arduous. In a few months Ginny _should_ be able to travel on her own. She supposed it was a good thing that her father already owned a Muggle car for her to practice with otherwise.

There was an awkward pause as Molly and Ginny adjusted to the idea of Luna traveling alone throughout the wizarding world, but Luna didn't seem to notice. Finally, Molly asked, "Well, what else did you need dear?"

Luna paused in a rare show of hesitation, took a deep breath and said, "Mrs. Weasley, I was wondering if you would give my hair a trim for school? Daddy and I always notice that your boys' hair is never shaggy and when Ginny wore her hair short it was always very straight and even. I was hoping that you could do something with mine to help with the split ends? My mother used to trim them but she kept it long overall, and my hair hasn't been cut for two years now. Not since her passing." Luna said it all very slowly and precisely the way she spoke all the time, but Ginny could tell it immediately broke her mum's heart.

Luna's flirtation with underage magic forgotten, Molly went and put an arm around her, "You listen to me now. You come over here anytime you need help with anything your mother used to help you with, hm?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Luna smiled.

Turning around to get a chair and towel and to hastily wipe her eyes, Ginny's mum asked, "Would you like a spot of breakfast before we get started?"

"No, thank you. Daddy always wakes early to print during the summer that way it isn't adding to the heat in the afternoons," replied Luna, "So we breakfast then."

Luna sat in the chair Molly provided and her hair hung to within inches of the floor, her mum performed the Engorgio Charm to raise the height of the chair and it made Luna look barely older than a toddler sitting in it. Molly asked, "Now how much were you thinking of cutting off? And did your mother do it wet, dry, or damp?"

Ginny listened as Luna gave her mother a complicated set of directions and they discussed curly hair springiness. Ginny was lost early on as she tried to pay attention while drying and putting away the silverware, but Molly who loved cutting hair seemed to understand exactly what Luna was describing. Ginny, and her brothers all had straight hair and so she never thought about these things before. She had no clue what they were talking about until she watched her mother begin to magically cut Luna's hair with a severing charm at a point farther down the strands than they had discussed the final length should be.

As the cut sections fell away, Ginny watched the still cascading hair pull into tighter ringlets shortening the overall length to almost where they initially talked about leaving it. Ah, now she understood, the curls were being pulled straighter by the weight, and Ginny's mum had to compensate.

After she magically removed the majority of the split ends Molly went to work on evening out the remainder into a gorgeous v-shape, this took quite a bit of time, much longer than she spent on Ginny or any of her brothers. She remembered when her mother made the annual Weasley sweaters last year for Christmas and she had included one for Harry. She made his with far more care and quality. Apparently if you weren't one of Molly's own you received quite a bit more effort from her.

While Luna sat patiently on the engorged kitchen chair, Molly remembered she had one last thing to ask.

"I was wondering if Ginny would like to accompany me to make our first-year purchases in Diagon Alley," said Luna, as though she were asking if they could simply take a stroll in the yard and not wander around the largest gathering of wizards in the middle of London by themselves. "Daddy and I are taking a trip next week to do some investigating for one of his future editorials and we won't be back until just before term begins," she explained.

Ginny could tell her mother instantly went into protective mode but kept her voice calm when she asked, "Accompany you? Is your father not taking you?"

"No." said Luna, "I've been to Diagon Alley many times on my own to meet with daddy's writers. I know my way around quite well."

Ginny was torn, she didn't know Luna that well, but they were the only two girls from wizard families their age who lived anywhere around here. She wanted to go exploring Diagon Alley without her brothers or mum moving her along at their pace but on the other hand it was terrifying to think about traveling all the way there without an adult, even if Luna has done it many times before.

Then realization hit before her mother could respond, "I can't," said Ginny, "I haven't gotten my letter from Hogwarts yet," she admitted hanging her head a bit.

Noticing how down-hearted Ginny looked, Molly attempted to lighten the mood by saying, "She can't anyway. Ginny is grounded."

Puzzled Ginny said, "Wait. What does being grounded have to do with not being able to go to Diagon Alley?" She looked inquisitively at her mum.

Molly smiled in disbelief and said, "Sweetheart, what do you think being grounded means?"

Ginny didn't want to admit in front of Luna that she didn't know, but put forth her best guess, "Doesn't it mean I have to stay on the ground, that I can't ride any brooms?"

Molly burst out laughing so heartily that she had to walk away so she didn't accidentally ruin Luna's hair, "No, dear. It means you aren't allowed to leave the house and yard. So yes in a way I guess it does also mean no broom riding."

Luna, polite as ever, merely smiled after Ginny had answered and then said, "You've never been grounded before have you? Is that why you had to clean the fireplace yesterday?"

A little guarded Ginny lowered her eyes and felt her face getting hot when she said, "Yes."

Luna however, did not pry, "Well, it'll be over before you know it. I'm sorry you can't go with me."

Finished with cutting her hair Molly began to brush it out and took a deep breath before saying, "You know, Luna, I wouldn't let Ginny go with you by yourselves even if she had her letter and weren't grounded. I don't think you should be coming and going that far away alone either. It's just not safe. I would have been happy to accompany the both of you and taken the boys another time if we could've arranged it."

"Mrs. Weasley, I would have loved for you to come with us as well. I did not want to take you away from the rest of your children," said Luna plainly.

Molly shrank the chair back to normal size and walked around to the front to face Luna, "You just promise me that you stay safe, and stick to the places where there are lots of people, lots of families. I can't tell you what to do, but I can at least give you my opinion and my advice, and important business father or not, I don't think you are old enough to be on your own."

"Mrs. Weasley," Luna smiled again, "you are one of the kindest people I know and therefore your opinion and advice are both treasured."

Pleased, Molly walked back around to Luna's hair again and asked, "Now, how would you like a nice side part like what Ginny is sporting?" Ginny watched as her mother easily made Luna's hair stay exactly as she styled it without any Muggle hair spray or spells to keep it in place. "It's all the curls," her mum explained when Ginny got a look of incredulity on her face.

Shortly afterwards Luna picked up her basket of eggs, thanked Molly graciously, and bade them both farewell. Ginny's mum invited her to come over any time and thanked her again for watching their chickens over Christmas. As much as Ginny enjoyed the company, Luna was vastly different than any other person she knew, aside from maybe Luna's father, and Ginny didn't know if she would have wanted to spend all day with her in Diagon Alley. On the other hand, Ginny's own dad collected Muggle plugs, and she adored him, perhaps she just needed to get to know Luna better she thought.

: : : : :

Ginny spent the next six days leafing through more of Ron's spell books and helping Molly around the house. She practiced spells with her makeshift wand and fixed all the rips and tears in every single pair of wizard robes and Muggle artifact of clothing she owned by hand. A project she had always meant to start a long time ago but never got around to it until she didn't have anywhere to go. Her mum had shown her how to use a needle and thread when she was eight, and let her do it on her own since she was nine. During this time, Ron had received a reply from Hermione that no, she had not been getting any word from Harry and was also very concerned about him. Even the twins started to wonder about their prize Seeker.

On her last day of being grounded Ginny passed the morning hours away by practicing different braided looks in her hair. Ready to give up and find a new project to start, and anticipating being finished with her grounding tomorrow, Ginny put down her comb and changed out of her pajamas. Right when she found her shoes to slip on, thinking she would sit outside on the porch and leaf through another of Ron's books he'd left on the kitchen counter, Ginny heard her father's voice calling to her from downstairs.

Hurrying with her laces, she heard him call for her again and again. Ginny took off down the steps as fast as she could go nearly knocking over the chicken feed bin at the bottom of the stairwell. Her father never hollered her name like that throughout the house, especially not right when he arrived home.

Everything Ginny had done this past week raced through her mind, she'd made fun of Ron when he had to take all the rugs outside and beat the dust out of them for stomping in the staircase while yelling and slamming his door the other day. She had played lookout for the twins when they tried to capture and hide Hermes from Percy as a prank. The feathers Hermes lost weren't flight ones, he was ok. She had deliberately burned Ron's toast a couple of mornings in a row for his jab about her not being out of bed in time to help make him and the rest of their brothers a perfect breakfast.

Ginny was apprehensive at the thought of further groundings, none of these incidences should have merited her father calling for her so urgently. Ginny wanted her freedom back, she missed Abellio, and flying, and the horses.

She found her father in the living room, gesturing towards the owl perch. There were two unfamiliar owls there, one had his copy of the Daily Prophet. The other had an envelope still tied to its leg on what looked like heavy parchment and written in emerald green ink was:

Miss G. Weasley  
The First Floor Bedroom  
The Burrow  
Ottery St. Catchpole,  
Devon

Ginny stared at the letter, the owl it was attached to kept stretching his wings and ruffling his feathers, in anticipation of finishing his delivery.

At long last Ginny's letter had come, inviting her to Hogwarts. She was magical enough after all. She wasn't going to be left behind by the rest of her family and forced to live as a Muggle, although her father probably would've loved that.

She was going to learn the twelve uses of dragon's blood and how to turn a mouse into a snuff box, she was going to get proper flying lessons, and one day be able to try out for her house Quidditch team. At this moment she didn't even care if she were sorted into Slytherin, because even if that came true, it still meant she would be at Hogwarts.

"Don't keep that owl waiting all day," her dad said gently. Arthur knew this was a big moment for his daughter and watched as she carefully untied the thongs from around the owl's leg. As soon as it was free, the school owl took off into the morning again. Ginny, slit the envelope open. She sat down on the couch and read:

 **Hogwarts School** **  
** ** _of_** **Witchcraft** ** _and_** **Wizardry** **  
** **Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore** **  
** ** _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_** _ **  
**_ ** _Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_**

 **Dear** Miss Weasley,  
 **We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.** **  
** **Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.**

 **Yours sincerely,** **  
** **Minerva McGonagall,** **  
** ** _Deputy Headmistress_** **(1)**

Ginny couldn't believe it, it was a like a balloon had absorbed all the worry she'd been holding inside and it floated away lighter than air.

"There, see. Nothing to worry about," her father said.

Molly bustled into the living room and held out her hands for Ginny to take and then pulled her into a hug. "Looks like you get to go shopping in Diagon Alley after all," she laughed, "with me of course."

Ginny spent the rest of the day happily drifting from one chore to the next, never minding that this was her last day of being grounded. With her mother's help, she composed a neat reply accepting her reserved position at Hogwarts and sent the letter on with Errol, hoping that he would make it okay.

The next day, finally off her grounding, Ginny woke very early and flew straight to the tree grove and told Abellio her good news while she fed him more seeds. From there she walked to the part of the horse pasture that extended into the grove and called the bays over to her and visited with them giving each another apple from the Weasleys' orchard before flying home again. Too excited to concentrate on Quidditch training Ginny kept her flying to the minimum of carrying her to the tree grove and home for the next week, trying to visit Abellio and the horses as often as she could now that she knew she would be gone for quite some time soon.

: : : : :

Errol came back from Hogwarts a full seven days after leaving with Ginny's answer, just in time for Ron to send him away again with a birthday card for Harry Potter. The money Bill and Charlie sent in the summers arrived and Molly added it to her shopping purse. Ginny began to get excited about her future brand new school robes and especially about her wand. She spent many hours in her room going over her wardrobe again and again trying to decide which Muggle clothes to wear to King's Cross and to bring with her to school for the weekends.

Most astonishingly, everyone in the whole house seemed more distracted than usual this past week, so much so that not a single Weasley kid got grounded, let alone in trouble. Ginny thought it was some kind of record, and realized that the twins were absolutely just as concerned about Harry Potter as Ron was by now and their dark brooding mood permeated the entire house, dampening Ginny's genuine happiness considerably. One evening she heard her mum and dad talking at the kitchen table, agreeing that if Ron didn't hear from Harry soon, Arthur would travel to Surrey to check up on him.

Then, on the very first morning of August, precisely one month before Ginny got to go to Hogwarts herself, her dad came home with terrible news about Harry Potter. "Last night Mafalda Hopkirk had to send Harry a letter, apparently he did a hover charm at his aunt and uncle's house, and what's worse, they're saying he did it in front of two completely Muggle strangers unrelated to him!" said her dad.

At the breakfast table everyone turned to look at Ron, "Harry would never do that dad, we were put in a lot of stressful situations at Hogwarts and he never lost control of his magic. He knows we aren't supposed to do magic outside of school."

Ron looked really shaken up. From what Ginny gathered students were only given one warning about doing magic outside of school while under age, and the next time you were expelled from Hogwarts. Ron agreed with the twins to write another letter to Harry. Errol seemed extremely put out as he only just made the same journey and hadn't been back long.

The next morning Errol arrived home with another school owl with him. Once again Errol had no reply from Harry Potter, but the school owl had a letter for Percy. Percy opened his letter, which told him he passed all twelve O.W.L.'s he took last spring. Uncharacteristically, Percy folded it up and gave a smug satisfied smile to everyone downstairs and then just disappeared right back up to his room. A few minutes later he had sent Hermes out with yet another secret letter.

When Ron saw this, it only emphasized the no responses from Harry, "I keep hoping if he doesn't send a quick reply back with Errol that maybe he's writing a longer letter to send with Hedwig," Ron said mournfully to them. "Hermione gets the same thing though, her owls come back with no reply and she hasn't seen Hedwig either."

Curious about something new about Harry Potter, Ginny asked, "Who's Hedwig?"

"She's Harry's snowy owl, Hagrid got her for Harry for his birthday last year when they were school shopping in Diagon Alley," replied Ron listlessly.

At the mention of Hagrid, Ginny remembered that Ron and Harry had tea with the Hogwarts groundskeeper a few times according to Ron's letters. "Has Hagrid heard from Harry at all this summer?" Ginny asked tentatively.

"I don't know," said Ron, "and now I can't write to him to find out because both Errol and Hermes are gone again."

"What do you mean Errol's gone again? Didn't he just get back from Harry's?"

"Yeah, but I sent another letter to Hermione," said Ron, a bit evasively.

Casting around for anything to distract Ron, Ginny thought back to a point he made earlier, "Hey, Hermione is Muggle-born right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, where is she getting owls to send to Harry that are coming back with no replies? Does she have her own owl too?" As much as her dad loved Muggles, Ginny never really paid attention to what he said about them before.

"No. I have no idea. I . . . I don't know. Ginny can you just shut it for once and stop asking so many questions? I'm trying to think," said Ron.

"Oi! Ron!" called Fred, "Let's go play Quidditch." Apparently Ron was done thinking as he got right up and left with the twins. Ginny went to her room in a huff. I was only trying to help, she thought to herself.

Later on, when they came back inside, Ron was talking about the three of them going to Surrey to check on Harry themselves.

"You can't ride your broom stick there and back," said George, "never mind someone seeing you, that old Shooting Star is way too slow. It'll take you ages." Ginny lingered in the stairwell out of sight, originally having come down to look for a snack, and listened to their conversation. Her brothers traveling the countryside without mum or dad? That was as crazy as Luna doing it.

"Well we can't use the Floo network, dad says the Muggle fireplaces aren't hooked up to it and to get them hooked up you have to get all sorts of permission from high ranking people," said Ron. "If we go on our brooms, Harry can at least ride his own back."

"That Shooting Star is too slow, Ron!" interjected Fred this time. "It would take days to ride that thing just fifteen miles!" Ginny listened to them go back and forth on this until Ron noticed she was there and shooed her out.

The next day Ron and the twins had a lie-in longer than usual, they must have been up pretty late the night before talking about Harry Potter thought Ginny. The twins came down first and Ginny hung out in the kitchen while they got themselves something to eat. "Is Ron still thinking of a way to go see Harry Potter?" Ginny asked them.

"Yep, he's still adamant about flying on that old Shooting Star," said Fred, rolling his eyes.

Glancing outside at the driveway Ginny sarcastically said, "Wouldn't it make more sense to take dad's car? You all could fit and it's faster than Ron's broom at least." Both of the twins immediately stopped focusing on their food and glanced at Ginny. "I mean, haven't you both driven it before?" she asked. Ginny just shook her head and headed outside to feed the chickens and to collect eggs for her mum.

After another visit to the tree grove, this time in the late evening as the boys had been gone nearly all day playing Quidditch in the orchard, Ginny headed upstairs to read some more in her room. It was quite some time after dark when she realized that she hadn't heard a peep out of the twins' room above hers for the last few hours. Normally, she fell asleep listening to them making little explosion noises and laughing at each other.

Figuring they tired themselves out playing Quidditch to distract themselves from Harry Potter's predicament, Ginny rolled over and fell asleep.

Quote References:

(1) SS/PS page 51 (I realize I took out the part of the quote that included another paper that listed a first-year's supply list. I plan to write about Ginny receiving her list with her brothers like she does in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and that is why that line is missing from the quote from Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone.)


	3. Chapter Three: The Burrow

Chapter Three: The Burrow

" **YOU COULD DO WITH TAKING A LEAF OUT OF PERCY'S BOOK!" (** **1)**

Ginny woke the next morning at her usual time, which explained why she was very surprised to hear her mother yelling at her brothers already this morning. It sounded like they were outside. In her sleepy haze, she could hear her mother still hollering at her brothers but her mum must have toned it down some because she could no longer make out the actual words.

She got up and combed her hair so her so mum wouldn't nag her but didn't style it and very few of the kinks from sleeping actually smoothed out, but at least it was tangle free for the time being. She didn't bother to get dressed yet this morning either, wanting to see what all the fuss was about downstairs before she was shooed away. Ginny whole-heartedly believed in people minding their own business, but also knew her brothers loved to know terrible things about each other to hold over one another and learned from an early age if you don't play this sibling game you'll automatically lose.

Creeping very slowly to keep boards from creaking, the only sounds that drifted up to the top of the stairs were muffled voices at first. Now everyone was in the kitchen instead of outside and it sounded like her mum was still telling them off. About three quarters the way down the steps, Ginny could make out Fred saying, **"It was** _ **cloudy**_ **, Mum!"**

" **You keep your mouth closed while you're eating!"** their mum **snapped.**

" **They were starving him, Mum!" said George.**

" **And you!" (** **2)**

Cloudy? Starving him? Ginny was in disbelief, did her brothers actually fly to Surrey and back last night to visit Harry? Thinking back to how the twins got real quiet when she mentioned the idea yesterday, Ginny couldn't figure out whether or not they listened to her and took it to heart or if they had already planned a rescue themselves and she simply surprised them by thinking of it also and voicing it aloud. _What if they told mum it was her idea in the first place?_

Bracing herself just in case, ready to say she was only joking at the time if her brothers tried to bring Ginny in on their punishment, she walked into the kitchen. The first thing she noticed was that there was someone sitting at the table eating next to her brothers. Someone who didn't have Weasley red hair.

Merlin's Beard! It was Harry Potter! It had to be! It was the same boy who got off the train with Ron at the end of the school year last spring and everything!

She was frozen to the spot for a millisecond, and then, realizing she was still in her pajamas, Ginny let out a small squeak of humiliation and raced back upstairs. She barely heard Ron say, **"Ginny. My sister, she's been talking about you all summer." (** **3)**

Ginny was completely taken by surprise that her brothers did not just go to visit and check on him. They brought him here! _Here!_ _The_ Harry Potter was in _her_ house! _The_ Harry Potter who saved all of Britain and Europe and quite possibly the world from an evil wizard as a mere baby and again a few months ago when he saved that stone thingy, was eating breakfast made by _her_ mum off of plates _she'd_ washed! Ginny was mortified that she had ignored her mother's voice in her head this morning which had always said to get dressed and look presentable before coming downstairs.

She also grew slightly angry that Ron said she had been talking about Harry Potter all summer. Well how could she not? Ginny was going to be at Hogwarts with him for the next six years! Her very own brother was his best friend! Her very own brother was worried about him nearly all summer and whenever Ron and Ginny or the twins and Ginny ever had a conversation, it had turned to their concern for Harry Potter. She was sure that _anyone_ who talked to Ron asked him a myriad of questions about The Boy Who Lived.

Ginny started to get dressed. Harry Potter had been wearing Muggle clothes, although they looked much too big for him. She didn't know if she should put on her comfortable Muggle clothes or not, what if she had been wearing them wrong somehow? Muggle village girls wore t-shirts with jeans didn't they? Ginny had seen pictures of other forms of Muggle clothing from Muggle books her dad kept on his book shelf, but it pictured nothing anybody in the village ever wore. She didn't own any of those tartan skirts or triangular blanket things or anything of the sort anyway.

Searching through her wardrobe for anything that wouldn't be embarrassing, she heard voices drifting up to her window from outside again. All of her brothers who'd been sitting around the table and Harry Potter were now outside in the garden. She watched as they all started digging around in the bushes, it looked like they were going to be out there for some time. Ginny threw on some clothes and pulled her hair back again like she'd been wearing it lately and went down to the kitchen to ask her mum what was going on.

Molly had a plate ready for her when she arrived downstairs, "Mum, why is Harry Potter _here_?" asked Ginny. She glanced out the window to check that the boys were all staying outside.

"Apparently, your brothers rescued him. I have a mind to go see these relatives of his and demand to know why the poor boy was locked in his room all hours of the day for half a week bored, angry, and starving. Imagine if a wizard did such a thing to a Muggle, there would be an outrage!" Molly went on, "That is no way to a treat a child or anyone for that matter, not ever! I haven't discussed it yet with your father but the boy is not going back to Surrey for the rest of the summer. He'll stay here with people who understand him and we'll get to the bottom of this underage magic incident."

"Harry Potter is going to stay here? With _us_? For a whole month nearly? Mum! We're going to be famous!" Ginny's eyes got big as she wondered at what people at school would think when they found out she lived with Harry Potter over the summer.

"No we are not. You'll keep quiet about all this and mind Harry's privacy. As far as we are concerned he is just Ron's friend staying for a few weeks and that's all. He's a person, not a zoo animal to be gawked at and I expect you treat him as such. You carry on like normal, that's what I expect of you," finished her mum.

"Why was he locked in his room? Were they punishing him for doing underage magic and getting a warning from the Ministry?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know dear, usually when I hear about these things it's because Muggles are afraid," said her mum.

It was difficult for Ginny to imagine Harry Potter as just another one of her brother's friends. Getting up to put her dishes away she noticed a beautiful white owl sitting in the perch area with Errol. So this was Hedwig, a beautiful bird, fitting for someone so famous. Of course Harry Potter wouldn't have a common brown owl. Hedwig was asleep at the moment, probably had been up all night with Harry Potter and her brothers while they flew here last night. Ginny didn't disturb her and instead glanced out the window and was taken aback.

"Mum? Is Harry Potter de-gnoming our garden?" she called. "You're punishing him? For what?"

"Of course not, dear," Molly walked out to the living room to stand beside Ginny to watch the boys finish the chore, "I told the boys to do it as a punishment because they could've been seen or worse lost your father his job at the Ministry by exposing his enchanted Muggle car, and he chose to go outside and help them. He really is actually very polite."

Ginny thought couldn't help but compare her most recent punishment to this. Her brothers came just as close as she did at breaking the International Statute of Secrecy, if not more so. If Ginny had been exposed her breach never would have brought her own father's job into question. To top it off, if anything had gone wrong with Ginny's flying with the horses, she would've still been within walking distance of home. Her brothers' crime was much worse than hers all things considered, and yet here they were doing their punishment all together, having fun even!

She kept watching, knowing what usually happened during a de-gnoming and sure enough her brothers didn't even have to finish their punishment either. After the gnomes figured out they were being kicked out they all began to walk away to the field on the other side of the garden wall.

That was not fair! It took Ginny hours and hours to do her punishment chore and she was grounded for a whole week afterwards. She debated bringing this up to her mum, but decided keeping quiet would be better than getting a speech on final parental authority. Her mum had already poked fun at her earlier when she was finally having breakfast about not being vigilant and still in her pajamas and low and behold they'd had a visitor. At the Burrow, what mum said was the final word and that was that, even dad became tongue tied when she started yelling.

Even though her mum had laughed about Ginny's earlier predicament, it was only half-heartedly and Ginny didn't want to be anywhere near her anger-target when dad got home and found out about the car flying incident. So Ginny stayed as she was and let the irritation of the injustice simmer away.

Molly had been watching the clock as she usually did in the mornings and switched her gaze to the door when Arthur's hand switched from Work to Traveling before coming to rest on Home. The front door slammed and outside George shouted, **"He's back! . . . Dad's Home!" (** **4)**

Ginny, not ready in the least to treat Harry Potter like just another one of her brother's friends, made the decision to not be anywhere near him today. She disappeared to the staircase and sat at the top, with nobody in trouble at the moment they all spoke loudly enough she could easily hear her father talking about his raids at work and her brothers asking him questions about Muggle baiting.

Arthur raised Molly's ire however the minute he commented on how it was unbelievable that wizards will put enchantments on the most random Muggle artifacts. He was taken by quite the surprise when Molly butted in, **"LIKE CARS, FOR INSTANCE?" (** **5)**

Uh oh. It sounded like her mum never knew the car could fly until now, maybe that's why the boys got off easy on their punishment. Their mum was waiting to punish the person who made it possible for them to fly it in the first place.

Ginny had heard the twins talking about it last summer. She'd promised not to tell if they kept quiet about her accidentally breaking mum's old pair of knitting needles. Molly had been in a frenzy to get new ones once school started in order to get the Weasley sweaters done in time for Christmas before they went to visit Charlie in Romania. Especially since she had taken on the extra project of making Harry Potter one last year as well.

Ginny had blamed the rocking chair crushing them. That they had rolled near it on the floor, when in reality she had made a make shift bow in the tree grove and used them as arrows because she didn't want to take the time to make arrows once the bow was finished. Mum's new needles were enchanted to knit for her, reducing her chore to only designing the sweaters so Ginny never thought about the incident anymore now that she saw how pleased her mum was with the new ones.

Listening to what was going on in the kitchen Ginny's dad was now trying to make a case about the car being perfectly legal to fly as long as it wasn't intended to be flown. Unfortunately, her mum was not interested in the validity of the car flying. Instead she was trying to impress how wrong it was for the boys to have access to it to bring Harry Potter here. Arthur attempted to use Harry being there and meeting him as an excuse to try to the change the subject but failed.

It began to get awkward hearing her mum bellow at their dad and Ginny thought about getting up to read through one of Ron's books on charms she'd taken from downstairs which he didn't seem to miss, both to avoid Harry Potter and her parents today and to practice with one of her switches that wasn't too dried up yet. Truth be told, she preferred them dried up a bit and rigid but her mother didn't want them flaking dirty branch particles in the house and made her throw them away when they weren't supple anymore. As she stood up, Ron and Harry Potter began to come around the corner at the bottom of the staircase from the kitchen.

Ginny raced to the safety of her room and watched as her brother and Harry Potter walked past through a tiny crack she still had open. She thought it would be enough to have the door most of the way closed, thinking that it wouldn't draw too much attention if she held very still.

Her heart stopped when Harry Potter's emerald green eyes looked directly into hers anyway. Spellbound for only a moment Ginny did the first thing she could think of to break his cheery gaze and slammed her door shut.

" **Ginny," said Ron. "You don't know how weird it is for her to be this shy. She never shuts up normally—" (** **6)**

She leaned her back against her door from within her room and let out a deep breath. He is just another one of Ron's friends, he is just another one of Ron's friends she repeated over and over to herself. She picked up Ron's book, _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1),_ but couldn't concentrate.

This was going to be a very long rest of the summer.

Quote References:

(1) CoS Page 33  
(2) CoS Pages 34-35  
(3) CoS Page 35  
(4) CoS Page 38  
(5) CoS Page 38  
(6) CoS Page 40


	4. Chapter Four: Diagon Alley

Chapter Four: Diagon Alley

Over the following week, Harry Potter surprisingly blended in very well with the family. Ginny was alone in getting nervous and flustered around such a famous person. If Celestina Warbeck were living with the Weasleys maybe it would be a different story. Her brothers and dad would fall over themselves trying to be helpful around her and their mum would probably be all in a dither during her entire stay as she was Molly's favorite singer. However, where Harry Potter was concerned, her mum treated him almost similar to the orphan Abellio when Ginny first brought him home and seemed just as determined to show him wizard family life until he could be on his own.

Her mum insisted on feeding Harry Potter extra helpings of everything, which he gladly took. She magically mended all of his clothing after he unpacked and brought his laundry down with Ron's the day after arriving. Ginny spent many evenings after dinner with her mum learning how to tear the Muggle clothing apart at their seams and cutting them down to a more appropriate size for Harry Potter.

Molly was more amazing at looking at a person and tailoring their clothes than she even was at cutting hair. She merely glanced at Harry Potter whenever he sat and finished his summer essays with Ron in the kitchen and made new seams so his Muggle clothes would fit him better. Ginny supposed it was all the practice she had had with her brothers over the years. Her mum did comment once though that she had to take some extra care because Harry was thin like Percy but short like the twins and had to combine techniques she used to only use separately when redesigning his clothes.

One of those evenings Ginny was working with a Muggle seam ripper on one of Harry Potter's old jumpers while her mum worked with her wand on a piece of one of his blue t-shirts. Molly firmly believed that Charm magic was much stronger if you could very clearly see what the magic was supposed to be doing and that by doing it by hand first helped with understanding the physical concepts. This was why Ginny worked with the Muggle tool.

It occurred to her that it wasn't just some of Harry Potter's Muggle clothes that were too big for him, looking at his pile, she noticed _all_ of his clothes were several sizes too large. Pausing, Ginny turned to Molly, "Mum, if Harry Potter's parents died when he was a baby, isn't he an only child? Why do none of his clothes fit him?"

Molly turned to her daughter and smiled when she said, "You have more in common with Harry than you think dear, nearly all of his clothes are hand-me-downs, just like most of yours and all of Ron's are. Harry's cousin is considerably bigger than he is and gives his clothes to him when he no longer wants them, or so I'm told." She paused before she added, "Harry never had his own clothes before going to Diagon Alley and buying a set of brand new school robes last year."

Ginny looked over at Harry Potter sitting with her brother in the kitchen, he had a Nimbus 2000, a beautiful rare Snowy Owl, school robes tailored just for him when purchased, and glossy new text books. Hearing that Harry Potter had to wear hand-me-down clothes his whole life prior to going to school at Hogwarts, was the first time Ginny found him relatable.

"Why didn't his aunt fix the clothes so that they fit him better?" she asked.

Molly didn't answer right away, she kept right on manipulating the thread into a strong overlocking plain seam pattern to connect the two new pieces she'd finished cutting before finally saying, "Not everyone is capable of mothering other people's children. That doesn't make them a bad mother, just a very protective one. It probably wasn't a priority. As long as Harry had clothes that's all that really matters."

Ginny thought about Luna's hair, and the extra time her mum put into Harry Potter's Weasley sweater she made him last year. She smirked to herself when she thought that if Ron were sitting here with them he would ask what about mothers who mother other people's children better than her own?

"How do you always know the answers to my questions, Mum? Especially about Harry Potter?" Ginny asked, puzzled as to how her mother knew so much about him already.

"Your brothers don't go to bed as early nor as easily as you do. They don't need to be outside anymore after dark so if they want to stay up I make them stay in the living room or kitchen with me while I butt into their lives asking questions," she laughed. "When they get annoyed or tired of answering they go to bed." Glancing at Harry her mum said quietly, "I think, he wanted us to know that he didn't do the charm that gave him his warning from the Ministry, that he doesn't try to do things to get into trouble but it seems his Muggle family tends to blame him for everything. Whether or not it's his fault. His first couple of nights here Harry spilled quite a bit of his home life after your father left for work and stopped interrupting with his Muggle bumbling." Picking up on her mother's protective instincts Ginny began to understand Ron's concern for him all summer long not answering his letters.

Ginny's dad was entertaining at dinner times before leaving for work. He asked Harry Potter all sorts of questions about Muggles and Muggle life. Ginny could barely follow what her father was saying most of the time and was pleased when even Harry Potter didn't know the answer sometimes. When her father asked about plumbing without spells Harry Potter's amusing but somewhat serious response was simply the word, "Science?"

Her father laughed so hard, "Science! That's a good one! I gotta use that next time someone asks me questions like this at work!"

The perplexed look on Harry Potter's face told Ginny that he didn't understand how her dad found that as a hysterical joke but continued, "Hermione could probably explain it." Ron nodded in agreement.

About a week after her brothers brought him home Ginny was getting used to thinking about the famous Harry Potter she had learned about growing up as simply Harry, one of her brother's friends. When she spoke to her mother or father about him she was finally comfortable just calling him Harry now, and didn't stare in wonder when he did ordinary things like help pick vegetables from the garden or set the table anymore.

Normal as she could be now when he wasn't right in front of her, she still had problems being in the same room with him though, and often was so nervous she dropped things, blushed quite a bit whenever the attention was on her, bumped into things she normally never did before, forgot what she was doing in the moment, and worst of all couldn't manage to speak in front of him for fear of saying something that made her sound ridiculous.

It was especially embarrassing when her birthday finally rolled around and world-famous Harry Potter attended her family birthday feast. Her mum always said August was the most fun and at the same time saddest month because there were two birthday celebrations and also the last night of holidays when the family threw parties.

They didn't buy gifts to give in the Weasley family, instead they made or did things for each other. Percy left his bedroom, abandoned his secret letters, and sat with Ginny all morning answering questions she had about Hogwarts, classes, things she found interesting in Ron's text books, and anything she could think of about school. Ron and Harry took her outside and played Quidditch with her. They let her take one of the twins' brooms and Ron stayed on his Shooting Star and Harry on his Nimbus. Although she practiced as much as she did with the squirrels and horses, it was nothing compared to flying with other people. Ginny had trouble watching both of them at the same time and afterwards resigned herself to training harder for her house team. Her mum spent the day preparing the dinner feast and her father just smiled and simply told her that he was working on a surprise for her at work.

Her twin brothers fired off some of their Filibuster fireworks in her favorite colors forest green, like where Abellio lived, and fiery orange-copper like the dragons in Romania. Her mum made all her favorite dishes, and Ginny didn't have to help with any of the chores around the house. As pleased as she was for the special guest it would have been nice to be able to laugh and joke out loud with everyone without worrying about making any kind of blunder.

Ron sometimes commented how weird it was that Ginny was being this quiet lately, but nobody else noticed because they spent much less time with Harry than Ron did. The twins hung out with him when the boys went to play Quidditch together and Percy ignored him as he usually ignored everyone all summer.

One morning, Ginny was peacefully eating a leisurely breakfast with both parents after her father came home from work. None of her brothers had gotten up yet. Arthur was reading the Daily Prophet and pointed out a section to her mum, "Look Molly, that Gilderoy Lockhart you go on about is having a book signing in Diagon Alley next Wednesday at Flourish and Blotts. He's promoting his semi- new autobiography _Magical Me_."

A female Little owl suddenly swooped into the owl perch through the big open window and landed with a heavy thud on one of the rail posts with a stack of envelopes tied to her leg. Hedwig, being the only owl there, flapped and ruffled her wings in acknowledgement. Ginny was surprised, normally post owls brought the mail at the same time the Daily Prophet arrived.

"Go get the mail dear," Ginny's mum said to her while she read the Gilderoy Lockhart article Arthur had just pointed out.

As Ginny approached the owl it was no wonder she arrived a bit late this morning, the stack of envelopes tied to her leg was much bigger than she'd initially realized. Ginny pulled off six letters from Hogwarts written on heavy parchment in emerald green ink.

She absentmindedly reached over to pet the Little owl who surprisingly relaxed her head down and spread her wings. She really wanted to get to reading her first ever Hogwarts school list but obligingly began to scratch the owl between the shoulder blades and massage the back of her neck. Most owls her size only carry letters and this one was fairly brave to carry such a big stack alone. The bird closed her yellow eyes and her white eyebrows amused Ginny as they moved up and down while the bird was getting kneaded.

The Little owl abruptly pulled away and shook out her feathers, scattering little dust motes that had been trapped beneath them into the air before getting ready to fly again. Post owls didn't usually stick around when delivering mail. Ginny wondered, because of the way it relaxed into her scratching, if it had been a pet before becoming a school owl.

Back at the table, Ginny gave the stack of Hogwarts letters for her brothers to her dad while her mum began to compare the Lockhart article from the Daily Prophet to a calendar. Then she opened her own letter to read.

 **Hogwarts School  
** _ **of**_ **Witchcraft** _ **and**_ **Wizardry**

 **UNIFORM  
First-year students will require:  
1\. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
2\. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
3\. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
4\. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry nametags**

 **COURSE BOOKS  
All students should have a copy of the following:  
** _ **The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)  
**_ **by Miranda Goshawk  
** _ **A History of Magic**_ **by Bathilda Bagshot  
** _ **Magical Theory**_ **by Adalbert Waffling  
** _ **A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration**_ **by Emeric Switch  
** _ **One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi  
**_ **by Phyllida Spore  
** _ **Magical Draughts and Potions**_ **by Arsenius Jigger  
** _ **Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them  
**_ **by Newt Scamander (** **1)  
** _ **Break with a Banshee**_ **by Gilderoy Lockhart  
** _ **Gadding with Ghouls**_ **by Gilderoy Lockhart  
** _ **Holidays with Hags**_ **by Gilderoy Lockhart  
** _ **Travels with Trolls**_ **by Gilderoy Lockhart  
** _ **Voyages with Vampires**_ **by Gilderoy Lockhart  
** _ **Wanderings with Werewolves**_ **by Gilderoy Lockhart  
** _ **Year with the Yeti**_ **by Gilderoy Lockhart (** **2)**

 **OTHER EQUIPMENT  
1 wand  
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
1 set of glass or crystal phials  
1 telescope  
1 set brass scales  
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad**

 **PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS (** **3)**

"Mum," Ginny said to take Molly away from the newspaper article, "look at my school list of books I have to get."

"Yes dear," said her mother not looking up, "yours will be the longest as you have to get all the ones that you'll carry for your whole time at Hogwarts."

"No, mum, look," said Ginny again, "half of them are _by Gilderoy Lockhart_!"

"What?" said Molly, taking Ginny's list, "your new professor must be using them as the texts for your Defense Against the Darks Arts classes." Ginny's father leaned over to look at Ginny's list after her mum said that and then Ginny's parents exchanged dark looks.

"What does that mean?" asked Ginny, already thinking she knew the answer based on watching her mom scrimping and saving for Lockhart's books when she found ones she wanted to buy for the house in the past.

"That means your brothers will probably need them all as well, and we probably won't be able to get them second hand," said Ginny's dad, groaning.

"And that we might not be able to get you everything new like we talked about earlier this summer, Ginny," said her mum quietly. "We'll know for sure after your brothers wake up and open their own letters."

Ginny didn't have to wait long, Harry and Ron came downstairs first. As soon as Ginny saw Harry Potter in the kitchen she put down her letter and tried to turn back to her bowl of porridge at the same time. Naturally her arms betrayed her and she knocked over her bowl, somehow all the way off the table. When Ginny ducked down to retrieve her bowl she felt her face instantly grow hot and knew she was blushing red from embarrassment which of course made her further blush more. She took a moment to compose herself, red face and all before scooping up her bowl and its spilled contents and carefully bringing it up to set it back on the table.

Ginny could hear her father sorting through the letters looking for Harry and Ron's all the while she was being awkward, and her Mum had been occupied with getting toast ready for the boys. Either nobody noticed Ginny's bowl tumble to the floor or they had gotten too used to odd things happening to her when Harry Potter entered the room. Arthur had the letters sorted out to the right kids by the time Fred and George came downstairs and everyone was quiet while they read their letters for a few minutes. Ginny slowly felt the blood recede from her face while everyone was busy.

The twins caught on first that every student needed a copy of all of Lockhart's expensive books. Molly couldn't keep the worried look off her face when she mentioned that Ginny could get most of her requirements second hand.

" **Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny. (** **4)**

Feeling her face start to burn again but still trying to keep her cool at being spoken to directly by Harry Potter, Ginny tried to just nod and casually lean on the table when doing so. Unfortunately, her mother must have moved the butter dish while making the boys toast when Ginny hadn't been paying attention because right as she stuck her elbow on the table to lean on, she felt a slippery warm sensation and realized she had stuck it right in the middle of the room temperature butter stick.

Harry Potter politely pretended he didn't notice Ginny's sudden mortification, and instead focused on what thankfully had distracted everyone else, Percy coming downstairs. Percy seemed to be in an annoyingly happy mood and didn't even cry out in alarm when he nearly sat on an owl after he pulled out the last chair from around the table. He simply stood up again and passed him right over to Ron who did cry out in excitement that Errol was finally back.

" **Errol!" said Ron taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "Finally!—He's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying that we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursley's," (** **5)** he said to Harry. That explained Ron's evasiveness the night before he and the twins left for Surrey, thought Ginny.

Errol must have gotten in late last night or very early this morning to have beaten the Daily Prophet delivery owl and had been asleep all this time on the chair while Ginny and her mum and dad were eating breakfast together earlier. Ron tried to stand him up on the old perch in the kitchen by the chicken feed but Errol was too tired and weak to stay standing and Ron unceremoniously laid him down right in the way of where Ginny and her mum would be doing dishes later.

If Harry Potter hadn't been sitting at the table with them Ginny would have told Ron off for being too lazy to walk Errol the few feet to the new perch where he could really rest. But it didn't seem as though Ron would have paid any attention anyway, as he began reading Hermione's letter out loud for the family.

Hermione wanted to meet in Diagon Alley next Wednesday if the Weasleys could make it to go shopping for new school books. Ginny perked up, so far there had been no discussion on when they were going to Diagon Alley this summer as the letters all came so late. Normally they waited until the last couple of weeks before school began that way Arthur and Molly could save as much as possible before going, but the family at least usually had a plan by now.

" **Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too," said (** **6)** Ginny's mum.

Ginny knew that that fit in nicely because it was precisely the day Gilderoy Lockhart was going to be at Flourish and Blotts doing his book signing. She only hoped that her and her mum would have enough time to find second hand supplies that weren't too beat up before spending the afternoon in a bookstore.

After Percy went back upstairs and the other boys outside to play Quidditch, (Harry was going to let them all have a go on his Nimbus 2000). Ginny asked her mum what they needed to cut back on to be able to afford all of Lockhart's books.

"It's not fair," Ginny stated. "Why would a professor _do_ that? Assign seven expensive books that every single student has to purchase brand new because nobody used them before as text books?"

"Bill and Charlie helped out more this year than usual, we'll manage," said her mother repeating what she had said to the twins earlier. "We're probably not going to be able to buy you brand new robes, and I'm sorry, Ginny, we're not going to be able to buy you a pet to take to school either."

"I should be allowed to take Abellio, Mum," said Ginny. "Ron takes Scabbers and he's a rodent! Fred and George's friend Lee takes a tarantula! I saw it last year when they were boarding the train. Rats and spiders aren't on the list but they can go, why can't I take a tame squirrel?"

"Abellio isn't tame, Ginny. He's wild. He was born wild, and we raised him to be able to live wild," said her mum. "Taking him to Hogwarts, will take away his wild freedom. If Abellio didn't want to live wild and free, he would come back to the Burrow. He wouldn't stay in the tree grove with the other squirrels where he has to fight for food and territory."

Ginny knew Abellio was happy in the tree grove. For a fleeting second, she thought about taking him to live free on the Hogwarts grounds and then remembered what her mum said about fighting for territory. She didn't want him to have to reestablish a home all over again at a place so large she might never see him no matter how hard she looked.

Her mum tried to distract Ginny by finishing their conversation of what they needed to cut back on, "Are you ok with getting second hand robes, dear? You know I can make them look almost brand new."

Ginny nodded her head yes, second hand clothes were easy for her to make her own. That she was used to doing. Really, all she had looked forward to was a brand new wand and a pet of her own.

"Now, I'm going to write to some of our extended family members and see if any of them have a spare wand to pass down to you," said Molly. "Ron seems to be getting on okay with Charlie's old wand, I'm sure you'll do well with one too." This was exactly what Ginny did not want to hear, but she nodded her head, accepting the unfairness of some die-hard Lockhart fan wreaking havoc with her family's finances.

: : : : :

When Wednesday rolled around Ginny awoke much earlier than she normally did. Her disappointments after the Hogwarts letters arrived were nearly forgotten and this morning all she could think about was going to Diagon Alley. Who cares if she didn't go into Madam Malkin's and get fitted and tailored robes, her mum's been tailoring her clothes since she was born. Ginny had never cared how new her books were going to look, as far as she had been concerned a book was a book, they had the same information in them no matter the year it was printed. Furthermore, the twins went to school without a pet (although you could make the argument that they had each other and therefore didn't need one). Mum had written to their extended family, Great Aunt Muriel claimed that if she looked around enough she might be able to come up with a wand, but told Molly not to hold her breath.

Ginny could just imagine what Aunt Muriel thought when she'd received her mum's letter, "Wouldn't have to ask for favors like this if she hadn't married into that Weasley family that breeds like gnomes." If she ended up with an old wand or not, Ginny was determined to have a good time while out with the family today.

She jumped out of bed and began to look for one of the Weasley sweaters her mum had made her and her purple wizard cloak that draped over a wizard's day-wear outside. Muggle clothes just would not do in Diagon Alley. She ran downstairs where her mum was already awake frying bacon and she helped finish making the sandwiches while her mother went upstairs to wake the boys.

After everyone had finished a quick breakfast Molly set the dishes to do themselves this morning and gathered everyone around the still clean fireplace, where Harry Potter admitted that he had never traveled by Floo powder before. Molly began to fret but Fred and George showed him how easy it was and after Arthur assured her, she let Harry go after Ginny's dad whipped out of sight.

Ron gave Harry a few tips and then Harry whooshed out of sight as well. Ron hurried after him. Then Percy, and then Ginny and her mum went last together. Ginny wasn't allowed to travel alone yet, her mum and dad decided that the kids weren't allowed to be on their own when off the property of the Burrow until after their first year at school and they'd had a bit of magical training. Ron was ecstatic when he found out he, Harry, and Hermione would be allowed to wander and buy their own supplies this summer just like the twins had been able to for the past few years.

Ginny still got a little sick but knew the feeling would pass when her and her mother went through the Floo network. She did her best to keep her eyes open through the flying soot and was relieved when she saw her father and brothers on the other side before landing in the Leaky Cauldron's hearth.

When she arrived with Molly, the Weasley boys were frantic. Harry Potter was nowhere to be found. He should've come out before Ron. Molly began to fret again and Arthur told the boys to stay together that way when they found Harry everyone would know at the same time.

"Harry had to come out of a wizard's fireplace, Muggle ones aren't connected to the Floo network normally, he probably just went one grate too far, so we'll check Diagon Alley. Maybe Harry came out into one of the shop's hearths," said Arthur calmly.

The Weasleys went out the back of the Leaky Cauldron and tapped the bricks to open the door to Diagon Alley. Arthur and Percy began scanning over everyone's heads and Ron and the twins looked around for both Harry and Hermione in the sea of faces everywhere. "Hermione is looking for us too, she might find Harry first," said Ron, "or she could help us look."

They ran and peered into every shop, systematically eliminating where Harry definitely was not. Ron noticed Hagrid standing in front of Gringotts and Percy at first seemed exasperated, "We're not looking for Hagrid. . ."

But then Arthur, taller than everyone else said, "There he is, he _is_ with Hagrid!" The Weasley boys began to sprint to Gringotts and Ginny's mum grabbed her hand and dragged her after them.

Ginny ran as fast as she could but it was awkward being pulled along by her mother at the same time. She could see Harry now, standing next a ginormous man and a young girl with bushy brown hair who didn't look much older than herself. Ginny recognized her as Hermione Granger from last spring when she got off the train and walked out of Platform 9¾ with Ron and Harry. From a distance it looked as though Harry was fine, but her mother didn't slow down until they reached the steps of the white building and she could get her hands on Harry herself.

While Ginny worked to catch her breath, her mother took out a clothes brush and began brushing soot from Harry's cloak. She watched her dad fix Harry's glasses and her mum thank Hagrid over and over for finding him down Knockturn Alley, of all places.

Harry told Ron and Hermione about seeing a boy all three of them disliked from the Malfoy family in Knockturn Alley with his father. At first Ginny's dad wanted to know what the Malfoy's were up to, but changed gears when meeting Hermione's parents. Both of Hermione's parents were dentists in the Muggle world. Dentists were professionals at cleaning and caring for people's teeth, a field Ginny had neither heard of before, nor wanted to think about. Wizards would brush their teeth like Muggles but on the occasion of neglect could simply take a regenerative potion or perform a spell to help with any complications.

They left Hermione and her family behind once the goblins were ready to take the Weasleys and Harry to their vaults underground. Ginny couldn't help but think about how at ease Hermione seemed to be around Harry Potter. Like with her brothers, the idea of him being famous must have worn out its novelty quite some time ago during school last year.

She really needed to get a grip on herself she decided. Her mother was right, she needed to really act like Harry was just another one of her brothers' friends. It was no big deal. She decided she was determined to act normal around him . . . and that somehow, today, she will speak . . . while he was within hearing distance.

Stopping at the Weasley vault, Ginny only vaguely paid attention to her mum feeling around inside of it before scooping it all into her bag and adding it to what Bill and Charlie sent weeks before. She was trying to pay attention to her brothers' conversations so that she could add to it, and fulfill her new promise to herself to act normal. Unfortunately an opportunity never came up, as Harry's vault was next and when the goblin opened it with Harry's key, everyone's eyes almost popped out of their heads.

Harry Potter was rich.

Harry Potter was not just famous, Harry Potter was the epitome of rich and famous. He tried not to show it, he tried to block what was in his vault from everyone being able to see it. But his skinny frame could not conceal the piles of gold and the mountains of silver and bronze.

He never talked about his money at the Burrow. Harry Potter would probably never have to worry about money his whole life even if he never worked after graduating from Hogwarts. He could probably leave school after his OWL's, not take any NEWT's to get into a real profession and still be happy for the rest of life. Ginny's earlier courage after seeing Hermione's apathetic attitude dwindled away. She sat quietly in the cart that took them around turns at breakneck speeds until they all made it back up to the main floor of Gringotts and met back up with the Grangers.

Outside everyone separated and Molly took Ginny to find supplies from the required list that would be easy to locate. They ghosted through a junk shop first, Molly didn't think they would find anything remotely close to the precision instruments needed for school but said it was always worth a try. You never know what treasures you might find that other people simply threw out. All the scales they saw were lopsided, the clothes were covered in stains, books had pages hanging half way out, there was even a case filled with broken wands.

After poking around a bit Molly came across a small pewter cauldron. It wasn't collapsible and it had a thick black mush stuck to the bottom of it. Ginny watched her mum take out her wand and glance around to look for the shopkeepers, she muttered a charm and then a spell under her breath and some of the thick mush sizzled away. Giddy with excitement Molly heaved the cauldron out from under a pile of dirty measuring instruments for potion making and again tapped the cauldron with her wand. It levitated only for a moment and then settled itself back onto the floor.

Satisfied, her mum called over the shopkeeper to help lift the cauldron to the checkout counter. Ginny wasn't sure what her mum was up to, she knew she wouldn't be able to haul that thing around on her own at school. Perhaps her mum planned to give her the one at home and keep this one? Probably not, the one at home was much bigger than the standard size 2 her school list called for.

The junk shop listed the dirty old cauldron at nearly half the cost of a brand new one from Potage's Cauldron Shop. Ginny watched though, as what her mum did next was fascinating. She casually mentioned that her husband, Arthur _Weasley,_ would be there in a few minutes to help move the cauldron after it was purchased, and she was wondering if they minded knocking down the price some? Molly was going to need to take it to a professional cleaner and then have all the old charms placed back on it after all.

The shopkeeper mentioned that by the time she did all that, it would be cheaper to go buy a new one. Ginny's mum had an answer though, "Oh, Arthur knows someone at the Ministry who excels at re-charming these things, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Lots of people owe him favors I'm sure it wouldn't take him any time at all to find someone. It's just the cleaning that will cost me later."

By the time they finished haggling over a price, Ginny's mum barely paid ten percent of the original cost of a cauldron from Potages. The shopkeeper knew plenty of Weasleys who visited his establishment and admitted that this particular cauldron had sat on the shelf for quite a few years in the back because he didn't think anyone would ever be interested in buying it. The man had put it on the display floor half-heartedly to hold the measuring instruments together in one place with it.

Once outside with the unwieldy cauldron, Molly heaved it to a nearby bench and focused her wand on the thick sludge at the bottom where it began to sizzle and melt away, within a few minutes the sludge was gone. The cauldron wasn't shiny and new, but Ginny could see that now it could easily be cleaned and polished.

"What did you do to it?" asked Ginny.

"Remember what I always say about knowing how to do things the Muggle way, then doing magic," asked her mother with a smile. "Well, most wizards would try to just vanish that stuff away, except you can't just vanish some magic away, you have kind of to neutralize it first."

Lost already Ginny tried to pay attention to what her mother was telling her. "You see, that was a bit of magical potion gone wrong stuck to the bottom there, and the residual magic was helping to bond it to the surface. Only a true potions master can vanish away a mess like that. So I had to imagine it loosening like how food comes off of soaking dishes and use a scraping spell, then as the bits came away I vanished those pieces little by little until it was gone." Excited at her own success Molly continued, "Now that it's gone, it can be cleaned properly and once it is the old spells like feather lightness should return. A safety you see, because a cauldron with anything in it should not float away . . . and if they don't come back, well, your father _does_ know someone who can fix that."

Ginny was still puzzled, "Why couldn't the shopkeeper just do that though?"

Molly paused before answering, indicating Ginny had again asked a question with a complicated answer, "You'd be surprised how many witches and wizards expect their magic to just work, and don't try to improve upon anything they've learned. Especially for something as mundane as cleaning, they suppose if you can't clean something with a simple spell then it is damaged beyond repair."

"Like, Ron?" asked Ginny, remembering her brother's unwillingness to ever do more than necessary with his lessons.

"Yes, exactly like your brother Ron," laughed her mother.

Molly put a temporary feather light spell on the cauldron and Ginny dragged it along behind her like she'd seen Muggle children do with balloons in her village. It didn't levitate very high though, it stayed right about waist level.

After the junk shop Molly took Ginny to a second-hand book shop and bought decent copies of all of her school books with the exception of Lockhart's. Those went into the cauldron which dropped down ever so slightly with the added weight of the books, once inside the cauldron the books also became feather light. Then they popped into Scibbulus's Writing Instruments to buy ink, parchment, quills, and envelops for writing home and doing homework. These Ginny got new as they weren't that expensive.

Next door to that was Quality Quidditch Supplies, where Ginny could just make out a small sign that read, "COMING SOON: NIMBUS 2001." Before she could read the description however, her mum pulled her along to their next stop.

At Wiseacres Wizarding Equipment they found a decent set of scales marked down, which someone had returned because the customer thought they were gold colored brass scales, not brass colored brass scales. The witch had realized her mistake after using it once at home. Ginny studied a pair of gold colored scales and didn't see that much of a color difference, but it must've been enough to not match the rest of the witch's potion making instruments.

"You said that they still work absolutely fine though?" Molly asked.

"Yes," said the shopkeeper. "The lady who brought them back said they worked perfectly and that she tried to overlook the mismatched colors but decided to get the gold colored ones anyway."

"Like these ones?" Ginny pointed at a comparably priced set, only slightly more expensive than the brass colored ones.

"The very same," said the man, nodding.

"That's kind of ridiculous, spending more money buying something just because it will match the rest of your stuff," Ginny remarked. "Isn't it just going to stay hidden away in their potions chamber at home anyway where almost nobody will see it?"

" _Ginny!_ " said her mother, giving her that look that said Ginny had been impolite.

"It's quite alright," said the shopkeeper chuckling, "you get all sorts of customers really. Some are less about form and function than they are about appearances."

"What do you mean 'form and function'?" asked Ginny, before her mum could shush her.

"Well, you see, the scales you're purchasing are a student model. You'll need a set with a vastly greater acuity for anything more advanced than OWL level potions. But of course, Hogwarts provides those for the few students who do reach NEWT levels. The gold colored ones, which are made of brass and are simply gold colored, are also just basic student models," replied the man behind the counter.

He must have noticed Ginny's still puzzled expression because he went on, "meaning that those scales will probably never be used to make anything overly complicated, if they are used at all. They will probably sit, as you said, just hidden away looking pretty all lined up with their matching instruments."

Ginny couldn't imagine wasting gold that way, and thanked the shopkeeper like her mother did when he finished packaging up her slightly used merchandise. Into her cauldron it went with the books and onto Slug and Jiggers Apothecary to get her potions ingredients that she would be using her new scales for. While they were there they picked up a brand new set of glass phials for Ginny to use as well.

"Nobody ever thinks to buy miscellaneous potions equipment at the Apothecary," said Molly, "but I found out years ago that they sell their phials much more reasonably priced than Wiseacres or Potages. Now, what's left?"

"Um," Ginny looked at her list, "Lockhart's books, robes, a telescope, and . . . a wand."

"Well, your father confiscated a telescope a few weeks ago from someone during one of his raids who enchanted it to find, well never mind what he enchanted it to find, the point is he no longer wants it now that it's no longer enchanted. Arthur told me just this morning that he has to put it on a new tripod but that he did get permission to take it out of custody for you to have it. From what he says, it's very high quality," said Molly. "So let's head over to the second hand robe shop, I'm sure tons of witches drop off their old school robes when they no longer fit." Excited about her high quality telescope surprise, Ginny happily let herself be led away.

There, she stood in a changing room trying on piles robes as fast as she could. Her mum kept bringing her more of various sizes too big so that they could alter them later at home. Finally, when she had three full sets and a cloak with silver fastenings all of which Molly was confident she could tailor for Ginny, they rushed over to Flourish and Blotts where they had agreed to meet the other kids.

It was only a quarter to noon but Molly wanted to get a good place in line to see Gilderoy Lockhart when he showed up. Ginny's mum had brought Lockhart's book _Magical Me_ that she had previously purchased while the boys were still in school last year. So at least her mum didn't have to fret over buying that to experience seeing him in person.

By the time they arrived at Flourish and Blotts, there was already a line forming up inside, and Molly and Ginny jumped in to save a place for all the rest of the Weasleys when they showed up. Eventually, Arthur and Hermione's parents came back from the Leaky Cauldron where Ginny was sure her father had been asking all sorts of questions about Muggles. Percy and the twins showed up a few minutes after them, and by then Gilderoy Lockhart had begun his signing.

Ginny looked behind her to see where Ron, Harry, and Hermione were and saw how the line had started to go out the front door and people were jostling around outside trying to get in. The trio appeared through the window and pushed their way inside and then slipped past everyone to stand in line with the rest of the Weasleys.

Ron was immediately trampled by the rude photographer who had been shoving people out of his way to get perfect shots of Gilderoy Lockhart for the Daily Prophet. Lockhart must have had the ears of a bat, for when Ron muttered his criticism to the photographer Lockhart glanced his way and saw Harry Potter standing right next to him. **"It** _ **can't**_ **be Harry Potter?" (** **7)**

Gilderoy Lockhart grabbed Harry and yanked him up front next to himself. The photographer had a field day shoving people aside and getting shots from different perspectives, all the while Harry's face began to turn red with embarrassment. Ginny had never seen Harry embarrassed before, it had never occurred to her that someone as famous as he was wouldn't like being in the center of attention.

She watched as Lockhart forced Harry to stand next to him even after he let go of his hand and the photographer had finished taking pictures of them meeting. The longer Harry looked uncomfortable up there next to Lockhart, the angrier Ginny became on his behalf. Polite as ever, Harry let Lockhart parade him in front of everyone until Lockhart broke the news that he would be the next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts this year.

Upon hearing this, Ginny was no longer angry at Lockhart on Harry's behalf. Now she hated him all on her own. This was the self-absorbed git who assigned every Hogwarts student to buy his books as text books. This was the slimeball who made Ginny's parents fret about being able to afford to send their kids to school this year. This _professor_ was so dirty, the first thing he did in his new job was find a way to make himself that much richer and more famous.

It was the first time Ginny felt the longing that her twin brothers must feel all the time. The longing to rebel against an injustice. She didn't know the first thing about making life hard for anyone, but she would do her best to make up for every promise her mother was forced to break because one man didn't know how to play fair.

Ginny didn't have time to think about Lockhart at the moment though, Harry Potter was walking right towards her. **"You have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own —"**

" **Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing, (** **8)** but Ginny had never heard before. Harry looked up from her cauldron and right into the face of a pale haired boy whose eyes showed a hatred Ginny had never seen emanate from anyone, but based on what she heard from Ron, Harry, and the twins had to say about him, could only be Draco Malfoy.

" _ **Famous**_ **Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a** _ **bookshop**_ **without making the front page."**

" **Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy.**

" **Potter, you've got yourself a** _ **girlfriend**_ **!" drawled Malfoy. Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books.**

" **Oh, it's you," said Ron, looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"**

" **Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Malfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."**

 **Ron went as red as Ginny. (** **9)**

Ginny watched as Harry and Hermione held Ron back before he could start a fist fight with Draco Malfoy. They didn't have to hold him back for long though, both Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, and Arthur Weasley showed up to get in the middle of the argument.

To Ginny's bewilderment, Lucius Malfoy began egging on her father just as his son had her brother. She watched as this stranger yanked one of her second-hand books out her cauldron and brandished it in front of her father like he was a failure to all wizard kind. Lucius Malfoy began to tell her father precisely what he thought about them hanging out with Hermione's family when all of a sudden Ginny's cauldron tipped over and the contents spilled out.

Her father had rushed past her and started a fist fight with Lucius, in the middle of a bookshop, in Diagon Alley. Some of her brothers cheered him on, while Molly began shrieking for Arthur to stop and one of the store assistants tried to break them up. Ginny could only stare, until Hagrid came up and picked both of them up and set them apart from each other.

Lucius Malfoy slammed Ginny's book back into her cauldron and said, **"Here, girl — take your book — it's the best your father can give you —" Pulling himself from Hagrid's grip he beckoned Draco and swept from the shop. (** **10)**

Molly began helping Ginny put all of her things back into her cauldron that had spilled out, she picked up her second-hand books but paused when she got to the new ones, "Where did these Lockhart books come from?"

"Harry gave me the ones that Gilderoy Lockhart gave him for free on stage. He said he would buy his own," Ginny replied to her mother while she gathered up packages of potions ingredients and rolls of parchment.

"He did?" asked her mother.

Ginny nodded, "I don't think he liked being up there with Lockhart, forced to get his picture taken and not being able to move until Lockhart was done talking," she said huffily.

"Now who wouldn't want to have their picture taken with Gilderoy Lockhart?" asked her mum.

Ginny rolled her eyes and sighed, but Hagrid seemed to be finished talking to her father and so her mother took the opportunity to scold him for brawling in public while everyone trekked back to the Leaky Cauldron. Harry and her brothers and father prepared to travel by Floo powder back to the Burrow, and everyone said good-bye to Hermione and her parents before they left for Muggle London. The Grangers seemed a bit upset from the fight at Flourish and Blotts, but Hermione was assuring them that this was not a normal wizard interaction.

Molly sent the boys home one by one and Arthur took Ginny's new purchases. When she was alone with her mother in the Leaky Cauldron her mum turned to her, beamed, and said, "Well, I suppose we better get you a wand before we head home."

"Really?" Ginny squealed, and then promptly clapped a hand over her mouth because she was in public and didn't want to attract any more attention than her family already had.

"Since Harry was kind enough to give you those books that he did not need for free, that left over enough gold to get you your very own wand," said her mother appreciatively.

"I didn't know Lockhart's books were that expensive," said Ginny, feeling annoyed all over again.

"Well, not quite, and it really depends on what your wand will be made of and how rare the wood or core is, they normally cost right around seven Galleons apiece," her mum answered, "but since we didn't have to get the books and combined with what we have left over saved from getting your cauldron so reduced we should be able to buy you a wand from Ollivanders."

Ginny couldn't believe her mum's attitude change, minutes ago she was admonishing her dad, now she seemed as giddy as Ginny felt about going through one of her first milestones to becoming a fully qualified witch.

They quickly made their way back down Diagon Alley, and stopped in front of Ollivanders. Inside was a boy, who must've been Ginny's age but wasn't much bigger than herself, trying different wands. With him was a man and an even smaller boy, who had a camera hanging around his neck. Ginny's mum poked her head inside and Mr. Ollivander beckoned them in, he showed them to a small waiting area and went back to his first customer. Ginny listened interestedly to what was going on inside.

"Now, how many 'Galleons' did you say I should be considering here?" asked the man kindly.

"I tell you what, since this is your family's first time, I won't have you pay absolutely no more than seven, no matter which wand chooses the boy," said Mr. Ollivander in his slow and whispery voice.

"Well, Dennis, can you stay here with Colin while I go and get them then?" said the man to the smaller boy. Turning back to Mr. Ollivander he explained, "I had no idea how much to start out with so we've just been taking it as we go along." He seemed to be the boys' father.

Mr. Ollivander shooed him away to Gringotts while he continued to pick wands for the older one, Colin, to try. Finally, while the father was still away, Colin took a wand from Mr. Ollivander and his eyes lit up. Very excited, he waved the wand and red and gold sparks whooshed out the end of it.

"Very good! Yes indeed, that's the one!" said Mr. Ollivander, very exuberant that they had found a match.

"Dennis," said Colin getting his little brother's attention from Mr. Ollivander, "Dennis, get the camera ready like I showed you Dennis, and take a picture of me waving my new wand!"

Little Dennis brought the camera to his eye and focused it then he pointed at Colin with his hand that wasn't going to click the camera button. Colin waved his new wand again until the sparks came out and Dennis snapped a picture.

"I can't wait to see what it looks like!" exclaimed Colin.

"Ok, boys," said Mr. Ollivander. "I'm going to put you into the waiting room while I wait on young Miss Weasley now and we wait for your father to return," he made to usher the boys to the seats that Ginny and her mum had just stood up from and then he turned to magically send all the boxes of wands he'd tried with Colin back to their places on the shelves.

Colin and Dennis watched starry-eyed as the boxes picked themselves up, sorted back to their rightful places, and softly set themselves back down in neat and orderly stacks. "I can take a picture of you with your new wand, when one chooses you if you like," said Colin to Ginny.

Molly smiled at Colin, "Are you starting at Hogwarts this year, dear?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Colin, glancing up at Molly.

"So is Ginny," said her mum nodding in her direction.

"I can take the picture now, and give it to you at school when I see you after I develop it," said Colin politely. "I'm going to develop these straightaway, I want to remember everything about my first trip to Diagon Alley, huh Dennis?" Dennis nodded, his eyes the size of saucers.

Charmed by little Dennis's innocent wonder, Ginny agreed, "Ok, sure."

"This way, Miss Ginevra," said Mr. Ollivander, bringing out a tape measure.

Delighted, the boys sat down to wait for their dad to return to pay for Colin's wand and to watch Ginny get measured for her turn. Ron didn't go to Ollivanders last year, as Charlie gave him his old wand and Ginny was only eight when the twins got theirs but she had stayed home with her father and Ron that year. (Mum wouldn't let the twins out of her sight yet at the time and together they were a handful). So while Mr. Ollivander was looking through boxes of wands to bring Ginny, she asked her mother, "Mum, how does Mr. Ollivander know my name?"

Molly chuckled, "Mr. Ollivander has been selling wands to everyone in the Weasley and Prewett family for generations now, Ginny. He's probably been expecting you." Her mum left it at that.

Mr. Ollivander returned with a very short wand, seeing Ginny eye its length, he began with that, "Seven inches, a beautiful Maple, phoenix feather. Give it a try." Ginny saw her mum's eyeballs bulge, maple wands were rare and very expensive.

Ginny began to wave it and handed it right back, it was nearly as wobbly as the switches her mum had her practice with. Molly sighed in mock relief making Ginny giggle. Mr. Ollivander brought out another wand, "Blackthorn and dragon heartstring, 10¼ inches, swishy. A warrior's wand." Again, Ginny handed it back. "No?" said Mr. Ollivander looking genuinely puzzled that the warrior's wand didn't choose her.

Ginny tried another, fir and phoenix feather, stiff, but not stiff enough. She shook her head and handed it back to Mr. Ollivander. The next one was cherry, unicorn hair, thirteen inches, but again she handed it back to Mr. Ollivander who cried, "We're getting closer!"

Mr. Ollivander brought out more and more wands for Ginny to try, they made a much bigger pile than Colin had. She tried to figure out the pattern he was using to determine what sort of wand he would bring her next but she didn't know enough about wand lore to guess; she was at least pleased that Mr. Ollivander seemed to figure out that she preferred a wand that wasn't whippy. Colin and Dennis's father returned and when he noticed that Mr. Ollivander was already in the throes of helping another customer, he sat to patiently wait and watch with his sons.

Mr. Ollivander came out from the back muttering to himself, Ginny caught the words "gentle lady" and "warrior heart" a fair few times before hearing him say, "Aha! Curious combination but it could work, in the right hands, it could work."

Mr. Ollivander brought out a box and opened it, this time letting Ginny take it out herself instead of handing it to her. The wand felt warm and alive in her hand and it was the same exhilarating feeling you get during your first breath of fresh orchard air after spending hours in a dank basement. Ginny raised the wand and brought it slashing down to one side and a stream of red and gold sparks emitted.

There was a flash and Colin lowered his camera, "I just knew that would be the one as soon as Mr. Ollivander brought it out," he said grinning.

"Miss Weasley," said Mr. Ollivander. Ginny turned to look at him, "I want you to know that I have never sold a rowan wand and the owner later turn into a dark wizard. One needs to be pure of heart to be chosen by a rowan wand."

"What's inside it?" asked Ginny.

"Rowan, unicorn hair, 9¼ inches, and . . . hard," said Mr. Ollivander. "Miss Weasley, I expect exceptional magic from this wand. In general, the suppleness of a wand can be an indicator of a person's willingness to change. In your case however, I should hope that a pure heart will always prevail. Be that as it may, this is no simple little girl's wand. A rowan wand is excellent for charm work, and extremely protective of its master. My dear, I wish to never have to face you in a duel."

Ginny was a little starry-eyed herself after Mr. Ollivander told her that little bit about her wand. Colin and Dennis's dad paid for Colin's wand and Molly paid for Ginny's, then Mr. Ollivander bowed all five of them out of his shop.

"Are you taking the Hogwarts Express on September first?" Colin asked Ginny once they were in Diagon Alley again.

"Yeah, most everyone does," said Ginny, still thinking about what Mr. Ollivander had said about her wand.

"Ok, I'll see you then," said Colin, "and I'll bring you your picture too." With that Colin waved good-bye good-naturedly and him and his little brother and his dad went off to explore the rest of Diagon Alley and finish his school shopping.

"Ok," called Ginny. She'd forgotten about the picture in the wake of hearing the details of her wand. Remembering what Mr. Ollivander had said about it being their first wand purchase in the family and that the dad had to go get more Galleons, Ginny asked her mum, "Were they Muggle-borns?"

Molly nodded her head, "Yes, how could they not be? The look of wonder on those boys' faces when they watched Mr. Ollivander do magic, absolutely endearing. Wizard families don't get to see that with their children. You see magic as babes and it's just part of ordinary life for you."

"Is it safe, that he has a picture of me performing magic?" Ginny asked. Cleaning the fireplace was punishment enough, she didn't want to ever come close to breaking the law again.

Molly smiled and nodded once more, "Even the Muggles in the boy's family must abide by the International Statute of Secrecy now."

It felt weird at first, knowing a person she just met would have a picture of her at their house. But she would see him again at school and take classes with him for the next seven years. She imagined many people in that time would have pictures of her at their homes by the end of it, and so she put the matter out of her mind.

Excited to try her wrist movements at home with her brand new wand, Ginny and her mum quickly made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron and took the Floo network back to the Burrow.

Quote References:

(1) SS/PS Pages 66-67  
(2) CoS Pages 43-44 The quote from CoS REPLACES the book for Defense Against the Dark Arts listed in Harry's first-year letter as I imagine it would have to look for Ginny's first-year letter.  
(3) SS/PS Page 67  
(4) CoS Page 44  
(5) CoS Page 45  
(6) CoS Page 45  
(7) CoS Page 60  
(8) CoS Page 61  
(9) CoS Page 61  
(10) CoS Page 63


	5. Chapter Five: September First

Ginny Weasley and the Very Secret Diary

Chapter Five: September First

The following Saturday was Percy's birthday. Ginny wrote him a birthday poem and drew the words so the letters could be colored in. She spent a couple of hours making sure every letter was neat and tidy, exactly the way Percy wrote. She could never mimic his hand-writing, but he would at least appreciate the craftsmanship.

When she colored in the words, she randomly changed the color of every individual letter to deliberately annoy her overly organized brother. She didn't know what Ron, Harry, or her father did for him but her mum once more cooked a rather large feast and the twins set off fireworks again. This time in Percy's favorite colors: Ministry purple and unicorn white.

At his dinner feast, before everyone began eating, Ginny presented the card to her brother:

 _Neat, tidy, and orderly is he,  
My brother, who does look out for me.  
Studious, and well-read you'll agree,  
I hope he becomes what he wants to be!_

"It's beautiful, Ginny," said Percy genuinely. "You have the colors completely random on purpose, don't you?"

"Yup!" she said, grinning mischievously. Even though she was able to talk in front of Harry now, she still kept her words short and to the point. Percy was about to pass the card around the table for everyone to see, but Ginny snatched it back, "Mum and dad have already seen it. It's for you to keep."

"Okay," and he laid it down next to his plate where it stayed for the rest of the dinner. Ginny did not need her other brothers taking the mickey out of her, especially in front of Harry, for writing a poem.

After the celebrations, Ginny's curiosity about her wand finally got the better of her and she began to pull her things from Diagon Alley out of their shopping bags. She opened her school trunk and very carefully packed the telescope that her father had finished putting on a new tripod. The scales went into it with the telescope along with all the miscellaneous items like parchment, quills, and potions ingredients. She set aside her school robes to take downstairs to her mother. Molly told her to bring down everything that would need patching up before term began while Ginny had been helping to prepare the feast for Percy's birthday.

She pulled out all of the sleek Lockhart books from her cauldron and put them into the trunk with the other items ready to go. Then she slowly began to sort through her second-hand books for her other classes. The ones that did not need to be repaired went into the trunk. The ones that required a bit of mending went back into the cauldron which also needed to be brought downstairs. The temporary levitation charm her mum had put on it in Diagon Alley had long since wore off, so Ginny left it where it was and decided to just put everything inside it that needed to be worked on downstairs in the morning.

Finally, she came to her last book. It was so roughed up, the binding was coming off the back and it flopped about quite a bit. Ginny began to put it in a proper book-looking pile when out of nowhere, a smaller book fell out of it. She delicately placed the mangled text book back in her cauldron and picked up the smaller book.

The black cover was a little beat up, and inside all the pages were empty. No, not all the pages, flipping through again Ginny saw on the first page was a name: T. M. Riddle. The other pages had date marks. It was an empty diary. The second-hand book her mum found for her must have belonged to this Riddle, who left the diary in the book. The year was from fifty years ago.

A little worse for the wear, the diary was not in need of repair. However, instead of putting it in her trunk or the cauldron Ginny stood up from her floor and laid it on her bed to look at later. Then she scooped up her robes and tossed them into the cauldron to go downstairs with the rest of her broken hand-me-downs. Finally, she pulled out what had been on her mind since leaving Diagon Alley . . . her wand.

She went over the wrist movements her mum had been having her practice as far back as she could remember with the new wand. She loved the way it felt through the snappier movements. It didn't wobble at all. Now that her mum wasn't making preparations anymore for anyone's birthdays she would be having her practice in the mornings again.

She was careful not to think any thoughts that could possibly produce magic while waving her wand around. Young children and those that didn't know any better but accidentally performed magic weren't given warnings. Now that she was eleven and owned a wand though, the trace was officially on her and any magic where she lived would be detected. Living in a wizard home at least provided some shade from the Ministry, not like where Harry lived and apparently even the magic of a house-elf was blamed on the only wizard who lived within the vicinity. The Ministry could only detect magic, not the caster, so they relied on wizard parents to monitor their children.

The following morning, Ginny's mum spent nearly half an hour watching her practice wrist movements with her new wand. Molly was very impressed by Ginny's upswing in doing it correctly more often than not now that she was using something that matched her preference. After Arthur came home from work he heaved the cauldron full of items needing mending to the living room where it sat while the family breakfasted. Afterwards, Molly produced a roll of Spellotape from a junk drawer and showed Ginny how to mend and reinforce the bindings on her text books.

Her mum put all of her books in a pile and told Ginny to leave them there when she wasn't working on them so they wouldn't be in the way and then set her robes in a basket next to them. With the cauldron empty, the two of them began cleaning it together. They soaped it out by hand first and used a soft cloth to dry it with. The surface was still severely scratched but her mum had a recipe for pewter polish ready to go.

After they finished making the outside shiny and perfect again, her mum tested the original charms on the cauldron. The levitation charm came back sparingly and the heat resistant charm balked as well.

"Why does a cauldron need to be heat resistant?" Ginny asked her mum, "Aren't they supposed to get hot?"

"Yes, but pewter doesn't seep into magic like other metal alloys can and it's a better metal for students to use. However, it has a very low melting point," replied Molly. "Sticking a Muggle pewter kettle over a fire will result in a puddle of hot metal. Spelled heat-resistant, a pewter cauldron shouldn't interfere with student mishaps and it allows you kids to have longer simmering times to fix mistakes or add ingredients."

Molly pointed her wand at the cauldron and said quite forcefully, "Scourgify!" to clean and banish any residual old potions, dust, and soap from inside the cauldron. After a moment it emitted a barely noticeable glow for a fraction of a second and then easily floated up to chest height for Ginny. She pushed the cauldron away and it gently floated a few inches from within her grasp and back again. "Well, that at least all appears to be in order now," said Molly.

Next her mum used a charm that shot heat out of the end of her wand. Ginny saw that she was ever so slightly melting the interior surface and dissolving away all the scratches on the inside. Afterwards, her mum went over it with a short-lived freezing charm to keep the re-surfaced form exactly as she left it until the metal cooled completely on its own.

"Your father's friend at the Ministry taught me that one when I was agonizing over throwing out my own cauldron I've had since I was a girl back when Bill and Charlie were children," said Molly proudly. It didn't look as shiny on the inside as the outside did with its polish layer but it did look brand new again.

"Why couldn't we just polish the inside?" asked Ginny. A few swipes with a cloth seemed like a lot less work than slowly covering every square inch with spells.

"Polish just fills in the scratches temporarily, and you don't want it mixing with your potions," said her mum. "This way the abrasions are actually gone and there is nowhere for your potion residue to sit and hide from a soapy washing."

They left the cauldron alone to let the metal finish re-hardening and over the following week Ginny helped her mum wrangle her brothers one by one so all the Weasleys could have their robes tailored. In years past Molly would fold lengthy robes so that every fall she simply had to undo the stitching and let more down in the arms and legs or out in the torso. Then she would use a mending spell to get rid of the lines of thread holes the boys had worn in over the past year. Ginny tried on all three sets of robes nearly every day until her mum thought they matched the pictures in Witch Weekly she was subscribed to featuring a few back to school articles.

The original heat-resistant charm must have also come back after the resurfacing stabilized the interior because her mum finally deemed the cauldron satisfactory when she tried to heat it to melting again. This time though the cauldron had nicely boiled the water her mum poured into it to test with. Ginny finished adding Spellotape to her text books and had put them back into her cauldron one at a time and then grasped it by the handles to lightly pull it to a hover position and took it to her room to pack with the rest of her Hogwarts stuff.

In her room, Ginny put her books, robes and cauldron into her trunk. She pulled out all her wizard day robes from her wardrobe, the ones she'd patched over the summer while grounded, and packed them as well. She didn't see an occasion that would require any of them before leaving for King's Cross in a few days' time.

All that was left were her Muggle clothes to sort through and to decide what she wanted to take. Ginny decided to leave that task for another day though. Instead she picked up the old diary and leafed through it again.

Every night since she found it she had picked it up and rifled through its pages absentmindedly. At first she felt guilty about having it, knowing it had belonged to someone named T.M. Riddle. But after a few nights she decided that since it was fifty years old and nothing was written inside, it was fortuitous that it was now in the hands of someone who could actually use it.

Ginny didn't see herself as a writer exactly, but she liked to come up with little four liners to describe what was going on around her. These were usually for her own amusement though and not really shared with anyone else. Giving one to her brother for his birthday was a rare public display.

She decided to work on artfully covering T.M. Riddle's name with her own and practiced on scratch paper first. When she was confident that she could cleverly cover his name with her unsteady makeshift calligraphy, she began to ink her name over his own. However, about half way through she noticed that the ink in the G of her name began to disappear. She waited and sure enough, every stroke of her quill turned lighter and lighter until it was gone. Like a paper left out in the sun for months at a time and the effects fast forwarded until it looked blank again.

Enthralled, Ginny began to draw squiggles all over the first page with T.M. Riddle's name on it. Sure enough all of it disappeared. She flipped to random pages and made similar messy lines all crisscrossing over each other each. Every single one slowly disappearing. She began to draw pictures: a smiling sun, a rainbow pouring from a cloud, a crooked version of the Burrow. All of them disappeared. The diary seemed to have an endless capacity of absorbing the ink.

Finally, confident that she could write the words and nobody would see them again, Ginny wrote a stanza about Abellio that she thought up earlier that day while out in the woods with him and the other squirrels.

 _His fur is very sleek and dark,  
A clear contrast with snow,  
I found you when you were alone,  
My baby squirrel, Abellio!_

Pleased, she wrote it quickly so that she could see the poem in its entirety before it disappeared. After the last drop of ink vanished Ginny was about to put the diary turned poetry book on the nightstand and get ready for bed, when she noticed some ink starting to seep back onto the paper. Slowly a message scrawled across the page she was open to in the very ink she had just used and thought was gone for good.

" _That was delightfully, sweet. Tell me more about Abellio."_

Ginny slammed the book shut and tossed it into the back of a drawer. Someone was watching her write in the diary after all! Someone read her words that were meant only for herself! Shaking a bit, she changed into her pajamas and got ready for bed.

The next morning Ginny was sitting at breakfast after her father had come home. He was going on about one of his raids where a pull-out couch ended up in a second-hand shop that had been spelled to roll back up after Muggles had already laid down upon it. It wasn't outrageously dangerous per se but required quite a few task forces from different departments to show up.

"Dad, why are some spells on Muggle things outlawed but others aren't? Like . . . why is my cauldron allowed to float?" Ginny struggled to ask her father questions she wanted answered but tried to seem curious rather than worried. Despite the scare the night before she wasn't ready to give up on her diary just yet.

"A spell is only outlawed if it allows the enchanted object to make its own decisions, or if it deliberately harms an unsuspecting victim," he replied. "A levitation charm only levitates, and cauldrons aren't so much a Muggle artifact anymore as they are a wizard's anyway."

"What about magical animals? Can't they think for themselves?" asked Ginny.

"Yes, but with magical animals you can see where they keep their brains, besides they aren't spelled, they are born magical," he said knowledgably. "Anything born with a brain and you can see where it keeps it, should be allowed to think for itself," laughed her father. This prompted another conversation between her parents about the under-representation of magical creatures such as Centaurs and house elves at the Ministry. She had heard all this before though and went back upstairs to her room before her brothers came down.

Ginny knew where her parents stood on such matters and one-hundred percent agreed with them about magical creatures, but she didn't need to hear it rehashed out. She was still worried about her diary.

Sitting in her room later, Ginny had pulled the diary out of the drawer and now she sat cross-legged, staring at it while it laid harmlessly opposite her at the foot of her bed. She had been deciding how best to figure out if the person in the diary was a threat or not and decided in the end that she would simply ask it straight out.

Fingers shaking only slightly, she opened the diary. The pages were blank as ever. She dipped her quill into a dark blue ink and began to write, "Who are you?" A reply came back almost instantly.

" _My name is Tom Riddle."_

" _All I know about you is that your name starts with G I N."_

" _How did you find my diary Gin?"_

Ginny realized the diary must only know what you write in it and quickly made a note to herself not to tell it any more specifics until she figured out if it was dark magic or not. "It was inside a book I bought for school at second-hand store."

" _Interesting."_

" _It shouldn't have been in a second-hand shop."_

Confused about the diary's "tone of voice," Ginny decided to get as much information from it as she could before deciding whether or not to tell her father about it. "How old are you? Are you a wizard? What are you? Are you trapped in the book? Are you going to try to hurt me?"

" _Yes, I was a wizard. I attended Hogwarts. Now, I am a memory."_

" _I don't know what year it is, so I don't know how old I am."_

" _I suppose you could say I am 'trapped' in this book, though I would say I am not."_

" _Now, do be polite. Who are you?"_

Ginny was conflicted. She didn't want to tell the diary any more about herself just yet but at the same time she wanted more answers. "My surname is Weasley. Are you going to try to hurt me? You didn't answer that one."

" _Weasley? I've known many Weasleys. Very old wizarding family."_

" _No, I have no intentions of hurting you, my dear Miss Weasley."_

"How do you know I'm a _Miss_ Weasley?" Ginny asked Tom in the diary.

" _Rainbows and sunshine my dear. You drew pictures of rainbows and sunshine."_

" _You also wrote a poem, about a baby squirrel."_

" _Tell me more about Abellio."_

An odd sensation of happiness overcame Ginny as she wrote out Abellio's story. How she found him in the orchard with no other squirrels around. How her mum let her keep him in the house. How she trained him to live outside where he's been for the last three years. How sad she was that she couldn't take him with her to Hogwarts this fall. How her parents couldn't afford to give her any pet to take with her to Hogwarts. When she was finished, Ginny couldn't believe how quickly it had all poured out.

" _I couldn't afford anything of my own at all during my first year at Hogwarts."_

" _I grew up in an orphanage and the school bought all my things for me."_

" _No extras here either."_

"That's terrible!" Ginny genuinely replied. Now that she was no longer writing about Abellio, that happy feeling was ebbing away and she was very empathetic towards Tom the orphan. "So, why are you in a diary?"

" _I was simply trying an experiment for the first time."_

" _I made a complete copy of everything I knew about the world and preserved it here."_

" _In this diary, I am eternally sixteen years old."_

" _And I only remember what I knew up until the day I made this."_

"So, you aren't actually trapped then?" Ginny wrote back. "I'm just talking to a copy of a real person? Someone who in real life is sixty-six years old now? The real you might still be alive somewhere!" Ginny felt a little intimidated that she was talking to a sixteen year old boy, but resolved to not make it into a big deal.

" _Well, I should hope so."_

" _Otherwise, this version of me may be all that is left."_

Ginny felt sad that that could be a possibility. "I could do some research at school. If I'm not too busy with homework. I could look you up and see what happened to you."

" _Would you take me to school with you?"_

" _I could help you, with your work. All the teachers said I was quite gifted."_

"Really?" Ginny wrote back. "That would be excellent."

Over the following day Ginny learned that Tom was a half-blood, that he'd reunited with his surviving Muggle father and grandparents, and that they had been very surprised to meet him. He didn't have any memories after their first meeting though because he had chosen to preserve this diary right after what he termed the happiest day of his life. Ginny was happy that he had reunited with his family after so long. She found out that Tom was an only child and Ginny told him all about how her brothers would tease her endlessly, but that she wouldn't have it any other way. She couldn't imagine life without any of them.

She told him about Ron's friend Harry Potter, who was staying with them for the remainder of the summer and how she had learned not to be so star-struck around him over time since he was so popular everywhere he went. Tom teased her back that maybe she was more than star-struck, maybe she actually liked him. Ginny furiously wrote back a denial, but she could see Tom's amusement when he wrote that he was sure she would find other people at Hogwarts to be attracted to and then this Harry Potter wouldn't seem like such a big deal to her.

When she replied back, she mentioned that what he said reminded her a lot of what her mother told her when Harry first came to stay with them. That Harry was just another of her brother's friends. It didn't occur to Ginny at the time that Tom Riddle wouldn't know anything about Harry Potter and his defeat of You-Know-Who. Then she told him about how he brought his Nimbus 2000 broom with him and that she really wanted to try it but was too embarrassed to ask.

" _You know, you could just take it like you do your brothers' brooms."_

" _This Harry Potter would never to know."_

Ginny got that same feeling of elation that she did when she wrote about Abellio's story. Her mind slightly hazy, she got up and drifted downstairs. All of her brothers were out front, so when she went out the back door, nobody noticed her disappear down to the broom shed.

Ginny opened the door and there it was. Harry's Nimbus 2000. She reached out her hand to touch it. As soon as she grasped the handle she could feel it begin to hum and for the smallest of seconds her instinct to put it down and walk away reared up. _Because it belongs to Harry!_ Her guilty-self tried to stop her only to be squashed away again when she saw that it hovered just a little higher than she would have liked to be able to mount it.

Once she was in the air, flying cleared all the haze from Ginny's mind. She was still guilty that she had taken something without asking first, which belonged to someone who wasn't her brother. Her moment of joy dwindled away and she silently landed in front of the broom shed and shoved the Nimbus back inside.

Confused, but mostly angry with herself. She marched back up to the house. There, her mother wrangled her into helping prepare their last dinner before leaving for King's Cross tomorrow. It was a welcome distraction as she made Harry's favorite treacle pudding, an old recipe from her mum's side of the family. Fixing the pudding helped Ginny calm down from her horror at herself. She couldn't think what would have possessed her to take out Harry's broom without permission.

All through dinner Ginny's stomach was in a tighter knot than it had ever been while she worried about her invitation letter from Hogwarts. Shaking internally from both guilt and shame, it was difficult for her to enjoy the last of her twin brothers' fireworks, this time red and blue stars after the meal. Afterwards, she headed back to her room on the pretense of needing to pack last minute items, and then she quietly closed her door to sit by herself and reflect on her uncharacteristic behavior.

A closed door, however, was meaningless to Molly, who popped her head inside Ginny's room not a half hour later to check on her packing progress.

"You have everything all set, my dear?" her mum asked gently as she bustled over to Ginny's trunk to check the contents herself.

"Yes. Everything on the list, and everything I couldn't possibly live without while I'm away. Just like you said," Ginny attempted a winning smile for her mum but her face betrayed her.

"First-year jitters getting to you?" her mum asked patiently.

"I guess so," Ginny replied.

"My last baby is going to school!" her mum sniffed.

Ginny wasn't ready to hash over her emotions after taking Harry's broom without permission, and she certainly didn't want that to be her last memory with her mother before leaving.

"Well, your father's going to have a little chat with you before bed, just like he did with your brothers," said her mum. "One of his little traditions in this family. Now you put the last of this laundry I brought you away and I'll go get him."

"Okay."

Ginny sorted through the last of the clothes her mum brought her and put most of it in her wardrobe to be left behind. She picked out what she planned on wearing to King's Cross in the morning and prepared an entire set of Hogwarts robes to change into on the train. Then she closed her wardrobe for the last time until she returned home next spring and heard a knock at her door.

Arthur Weasley popped his head into Ginny's room and beckoned her to sit next to him on her bed. "I've spent nearly this whole day looking around the house and imagining it without anyone here but your mother and I . . . and I still can't see it," he began. Ginny smiled, she knew her parents were both sad and happy that all of their children were now officially Hogwarts students. "Now, I'm going to tell you the same things I've told all your brothers, and ask you the same questions I asked each of them. Okay?"

Ginny nodded.

"First off," Arthur began, "don't try to be friends with people who ultimately make you unhappy. The kids you go to school with, are going to be around for the rest of your life. Take it from me, surround yourself with people who love you for who you are and help build you up; and furthermore, love those people for who they are and do your best to help build them up to their best selves. Okay?"

Knitting her eyebrows together, Ginny replied, "Okay," this was going to be heavier than she anticipated.

"Secondly, Hogwarts, is first and foremost a school. I know you are going to make friends, and you're going to want to do activities with them, but as a parent I must tell you that your school work is your first priority. Am I clear?"

Ginny smiled, "Yes, dad."

"Good, now along with that, Hogwarts is secondly your home away from home. You got your letter, no matter what anyone will ever say to you, no matter what House you are placed in, you belong there okay?"

Ginny thought about her brothers, each one of them looked forward to going back to school every year. Even Ron after his first year, which ended in a scary sounding disaster. "Okay."

"Now, tell me honestly. Just out of curiosity, which house do you think you belong in?" asked her father.

"I want to be in Gryffindor, like everyone else," said Ginny immediately.

"Do you want to be in Gryffindor because everyone else in the family has been in Gryffindor, or do you think that's where you belong?" asked Arthur gently.

Ginny racked her brain for all the qualities of the different Houses from the stories she'd heard from her brothers. "Gryffindors are brave, Ravenclaws are smart, Hufflepuffs are hard-workers, and Slytherins are . . . mean?" she finished questioningly.

"Close," replied her father. "Gryffindors are chivalrous, dauntless in the face of a challenge, and always stand up for what they believe is right. Ravenclaws are curious, about all sorts of fields and satisfying that curiosity most often leads to their renowned intelligence. They are also extremely creative, original, and believe in accepting everyone's individuality. Hufflepuffs are hard-working yes, but they are more than that. They are fiercely loyal to the people they care about, they are absolutely tenacious when attempting to achieve a goal, they are also incredibly kind, tolerant, and utterly believe in fairness."

"Now, as for Slytherins. I can see where your brothers see them coming off as mean, but it only seems that way on the outside. Slytherins excel at not only amassing useful information, but at _using_ their intelligence. They are resourceful in the face of an obstacle, they have the capacity to both think outside of the box when necessary and maintain traditions, and leadership is a natural desire for them. Slytherins don't settle for just doing what they love most. Slytherins want to be the best at what they do, and so sharing that same belief, they do all they can to help each other achieve some sort of status in life. And they expect that same regard in return. The other Houses aren't nearly so exclusive, which is why your brothers see Slytherins the way that they do. Now, after hearing all that, tell me where you think you belong."

Ginny felt only a little uncomfortable admitting to her father what she thought, but decided to name the House that she identified the most characteristics with, "To be honest, I think I can see myself in any of the Houses after you said all that. But if I had to pick, I guess Hufflepuff?"

Her father smiled at her, "That is exactly the right answer, not the Hufflepuff part, the first part. Everyone has some of all of the other House's qualities inside of themselves. Now, why do you think Hufflepuff over all the others?"

"Well, I think I'm resourceful, like the twins, and that's a Slytherin quality. But I also think that I always say and back up what I believe is right like a Gryffindor, and I know I'm always curious about all sorts of off the topic details in my studies like a Ravenclaw. But I really like what you said about Hufflepuffs being fiercely loyal and kind and fair," said Ginny.

Her father smiled, "Bill said he was going to be a Ravenclaw for sure, Charlie a Hufflepuff. Percy worried he would be put in Slytherin for his ambition to be in the Ministry. And Ron didn't have a clue except that he absolutely didn't want to be in Slytherin after some of your other brothers' stories. Only the twins knew for sure they were destined to be Gryffindors. They both had talked about it since they found out your mother and I were there and before Percy even started school."

"Really?" asked Ginny. It never occurred to her that any of her brothers considered being anything other than a Gryffindor. "But, what if I'm not a Gryffindor?" and then she asked one of the questions that had haunted her while she waited for her invitation letter. "What if, I'm the only Weasley in this family that isn't a Gryffindor?" She had just thought of her mother's math lessons again and remembered that the odds of seven kids in one family being in the same house were not in her favor. She looked up at her father as he put his reply together.

"I'm going to tell you the last thing I told each of your brothers. Your mother and I will still love you and be proud of you, no matter which House you are chosen for," he said. "Now, is there anything else on your mind?"

For one split second, Ginny thought about showing her father the diary. It was his area of expertise after all. But she had already grown fond of Tom and he was just a copy of a memory after all and she didn't want him taken away with no chance of getting him back before she left tomorrow. So she shook her head no, and gave her dad a weak smile.

After her father bade her good night, Ginny had a hard time falling asleep. Sure she was nervous about her train ride tomorrow, but she was also still guilt ridden. She needed to tell someone what she did who would tell her that it was wrong so she could get on with making amends.

In the flickering light of her relit candle, Ginny once again opened the diary to write to Tom. "Dear Tom, after I told you about Harry's Nimbus 2000, the weirdest thing happened. I remember being excited that one was in our broom shed, and being embarrassed about asking to have a go on it. Then all of a sudden, I couldn't think of anything except riding it. I felt like, I wouldn't be able to do anything else until after I knew exactly what it felt like to be in the air on the Nimbus. I don't know what came over me, Tom. It was like I couldn't control what I thought about or what I did. I'm a horrible person."

Ginny waited for Tom's reply, and started to wonder if the "memory" needed to sleep and that perhaps she just woke him. But sure enough, ink started to trickle back onto the page, and Tom's reply was not what she was expecting.

" _Did you enjoy riding the Nimbus?"_

"Well, yes." She wrote back, "but that's not the point. I didn't ask. I feel terrible."

" _Did anyone find out that you took it without asking?"_

"No."

" _Did you damage it?"_

"No."

" _Then I fail to see why this is such a big deal."_

" _You found an opportunity to do something you dearly desired to do."_

" _I am quite proud of you."_

Ginny was taken aback that anyone would be proud of what she did, but she thought back to what she discussed with her father about feeling close to Hufflepuffs, "No, it was still wrong not to ask. I _should_ feel bad."

" _Do you feel bad when you take your brothers' brooms out?"_

"No, but we've always shared our things with each other. It's different with Harry, he's not my brother," Ginny wrote back.

" _Does your brother see him as a brother? Do you parents treat him like a son?"_

"Well, yeah. Harry's an orphan, just like you. His parents died when he was a baby, their whole house blew up actually. Nobody knows how Harry survived, but that's why he started school so famous already. He's the Boy Who Lived."

" _Well, there you have it. Everyone sees him as family. You should too."_

" _Don't think on what you did as wrong."_

" _Think of it as treating Harry like you would any other brother."_

" _Perhaps that will get you over his crush on him."_

"I don't have a crush on Harry Potter, Tom! He's just famous!" Ginny wrote back, Tom didn't send a written reply but Ginny swore she could feel him smirking even though she couldn't see him.

Writing to Tom had the effect Ginny was looking for, albeit in a very indirect way. She confided in someone who ultimately made her feel better. "Thank you, Tom. I still think that I was in the wrong. But I suppose, what you say makes sense. If I treated Harry as one of my brothers, like my father and mother sort of suggested I try to do, then I shouldn't feel bad for taking his broom out for a ride."

" _You see? And now you can go off to Hogwarts with a clear conscious."_

" _So, have you decided to bring me with you?"_

"Of course I'm going to bring you to school with me, Tom. You're like a friend I can carry around in my pocket," Ginny replied.

" _Most excellent. Now pay attention."_

" _Write to me as soon as you can after you get settled."_

" _I know tomorrow will be a very busy day and class days will be as well."_

" _So promise me that you will set aside a good long chunk of time on the first Saturday."_

" _I want to hear about everything that happens at school. Okay?"_

"The first Saturday. I hope I'll talk to you before that, but I got it. I'll find time to write to you on weekends for sure." Ginny was excited that Tom wanted to keep talking to her. She vaguely wondered how he would know whether or not it was a Saturday when she wrote to him, but decided he was right that the other days would she would be busy with classes.

Ginny said goodnight and put the diary down on her nightstand. Then she blew out her candle and fell asleep almost instantly.

On the morning of the first of September Ginny had a stomach full of butterflies. The Weasley house was chaos, and as much as everyone tried to be prepared the night before, it still took hours to get the car packed. Ginny's mum had a simple stack of toast and eggs ready for everyone to snack on while other family members helped each other bring down school trunks.

Arthur started taking trunks out to the car one by one and when the twins burst into Ginny's room to heave her trunk downstairs she volunteered to get all the boys' broomsticks from the shed outback like she did for them every year.

"Where do you think you're going?" Molly called to Ginny, she had almost made it out the backdoor to the broom shed.

"Out to get the broomsticks. . ." she said hesitantly.

"Oh, no you aren't!" said her mother. "You have to finish packing for yourself this year. The boys can pack their own brooms. Go feed the chickens, they've been bothering your father every time he takes a trunk to the car." With that Molly turned around and filled the sink with water by magically turning on the tap, floated the dish soap over to it, and laid out bread to make sandwiches for the train ride all with a few flicks of her wand.

Ginny sighed as her mother waved her away. She really wanted to hold the Nimbus again, but instead she filled a sack with feed and went out the backdoor to find the pesky birds. She walked all the way around to the front of the house where she found them trailing after her father who had just gone into the front door.

Throwing the corn grain well away from the door but still in view, Ginny began to call to the chickens. All but one of them, the one who'd nearly followed Arthur into the house, ran over to her in a flurry of feathers and clucking noises. The one on the porch noticed the other chickens flocking towards Ginny and started to amble its way back down the front steps. Arthur reappeared, carrying Ginny's trunk. Just noticing the stray chicken, Ginny began calling it more urgently, but it was too late. Her father was already at the bottom of the steps and the chicken wasn't quite fast enough to get out of his way.

The chicken connected with the same foot Arthur was using to step off the last step with, and trying not to squish it, he and the trunk pitched forward. Ginny watched in horror as her father ended up kicking the chicken off to the side while her trunk flew forward out of his hands. The trunk was heavy however, and didn't fly very far and still unsteady, her father promptly tripped right over it. Her dad planted his face straight into the dirt in the front walk-way and immediately the kicked chicken ran over to peck at his arms in anger.

Her father yelled quite a few swear words when he told Ginny to call the chicken off of himself. She ran over and scooped it up away from him and Arthur rubbed his neck as he got up to put her trunk into the car. After she set the chicken down with the others to feed, she quietly skulked back around to the backdoor and into the kitchen again.

"Ginny! Are the chickens out of your father's way?" hollered her mother.

"They are now!" Ginny called back, then she heard her mum telling the boys one by one to go get their own brooms this year. She ran up to her room and did a last check for things she wanted with her in her dorm room. Her bed was made, wardrobe was checked last night, vanity top was empty, bookshelf organized and books piled to read during breaks were on the nightstand by her bed. Her mum called for everyone to get loaded into the car as her dad loaded Harry and Ron's trunks last, Ginny climbed into the front with her mum.

"Dad, stop. I gotta go back and get my box of Filibuster fireworks!" George said. He popped out and returned within a couple of minutes. While he was gone, Fred asked Ginny how all the brooms fit together this year with the extra trunks.

"Didn't you pack yours?" Molly asked, "I told you boys to pack your own things this year. Ginny had to worry about her own luggage today."

In disbelief, Fred got out as well to fetch his Cleansweep.

The car was trundling past the village and they were near the highway when Ginny started doing a mental check and decided she couldn't wait to write to Tom about today. It would definitely be a day she would never forget. That's when an image of the diary on the stack of books on her nightstand appeared in her mind. "Dad! Turn around! I forgot my diary!" she shrieked.

They finally arrived at King's Cross Station with only fifteen minutes to get onto the train. They went through the wall to Platform 9¾ in pairs, Ginny and her mum next-to-last with Ron and Harry bringing up the rear. Once her and her mum were through there was only a couple of minutes left to board the train. In a slight panic Molly began dashing up and down the platform to find at least a partially open carriage.

Then a voice sounded over the milling crowd of families saying their good-byes, "Ginny! There you are! I saved you a spot!" Hanging out an open window, where his dad and brother stood under it still on the platform, was Colin Creevey.

A look of relief fell over her parents' faces and her dad heaved the trunk to the carriage, Colin's father helped to lift it onto the train's steps and Colin whisked it away to his compartment while Arthur lifted Ginny onto the steps and gave her a quick kiss good-bye on the forehead before hurrying off to help Ron and Harry. Molly went up to Ginny and gave her a hug, and after promising that she would write home as often as she could, Ginny was allowed to go into the compartment with Colin and wave out the window.

For as long as Ginny could remember, she was the one standing on the platform waving good-bye and watching the train recede into the distance year after year as the train carried more and more of her brothers away one by one. Except of course when it took the twins as the same time. She watched her mother shake Colin's father's hand, thanking him for helping with her trunk and then scan the windows and waving farewell to her brothers. The train was already moving when she saw her father race back to her mother's side. They both had concerned looks on their faces and rushed away.

This year there was no one to chase the train as it slowly picked up speed. Colin's father was still standing there waving with little Dennis next to him. Ginny politely waved back with Colin until the Hogwarts Express turned a bend in the tracks and the platform disappeared out of sight.

Settling in for the long journey, Ginny and Colin sat on opposite sides of the compartment when they heard a rumbling in the corridor. Another student popped her head in, "You guys first-years too?" She had very dark colored skin and eyes, and her hair was pulled back in what looked like a million tiny equal sized braids that trailed off, held together with nothing at their ends yet still staying in place with no magic. It fascinated Ginny just like Luna's hair did when her mum cut it.

"Yeah," said Colin, moving over and making room, "You can bunk with us for the train ride." Ginny helped the girl heave her trunk into the luggage rack while Colin made introductions, "My name is Colin, and this is Ginny."

Sitting down on the bench next to Ginny, the girl replied, "Everyone just calls me Ash," looking at Ginny she said, "Ginny, as in Ginny Weasley?"

"How did you know?"

"Everyone talks about the ONE Weasley girl when talk of the old families come up. Plus, my family follows your brother, makes sure he doesn't give the goblins wizard artifacts," said Ash.

"Oh," said Ginny, "you're a Burke aren't you?" She had heard some of the stories from Bill about the Burkes breathing down his neck, constantly inspecting his work before it was turned over to the goblins at Gringotts. Bill understood their work was important for the wizard community, but he wished they trusted him more to do his job well.

"Yup," said Ash smiling, "I'm going to be the first person in my family who is both a historical wizard artifact expert _and_ a curse breaker. That way we'll be there on site when ruins and tombs are first opened and explored so nothing is missed or lost."

Ginny remembered the name of the shop that Harry came out of when they couldn't find him in Diagon Alley, "Is your family connected to that shop in Knockturn Alley? Borgin and Burke's?"

"Kind of," replied Ash, "that's one of my dad's distant cousin's side of the family. The Borgins run the shop and we procure the merchandise. They only get the sellable artifacts of course, my father's side focuses on keeping and maintaining historical ones."

Colin, who had been listening with interest asked, "What do you do with the historical artifacts? Put them in a museum? Do wizards have museums?"

Ash looked at him puzzled and Ginny answered, "Usually, the old families just hoard them."

"Are you a Muggle-born?" Ash asked Colin.

"What's a Muggle-born?"

Ash began nodding her certainty that yes he was, "Muggles are non-magical people. So if a wizard is born to two non-magical parents, your status is called Muggle-born. Oh, and by the way, if you are a wizard, you say 'Do _we_ have museums,' you're one of us officially now okay? Since the day you received your letter." She said it as though she were debating someone who wouldn't consider Colin a wizard. Ginny inwardly smiled at Ash's personal convictions. The Burkes come from a long line of Slytherins, most of whom believed in pure-blood statuses only but it appeared as though Ash was of a different opinion than her family.

"Okay," said Colin, "What does 'Status' mean?"

"It's just a classification, it doesn't have anything to do with magical ability," said Ginny, catching Ash's eye to silently convey her agreement.

"These days it's just an easy way to gage how long someone's family has been part of the magical community," added Ash.

". . . And you guys are both from old families?" asked Colin.

"Yeah, but you'll find most students are half-bloods and everyone starts at the same place at Hogwarts," said Ginny.

"You know what?" said Ash, changing the subject, "I like that idea of a wizard museum, my dad will hate it but I can do what I want with what I find."

"You can put it in Diagon Alley," said Ginny. "That's where I met Colin, we were getting our wands at the same time at Ollivanders."

"That reminds me!" exclaimed Colin, "I have your picture!" He dug around inside his trunk and pulled out an ordinary folder. When he opened it there were all sorts of little strips with miniature looking pictures inside plastic sleeves and black and white photographs of varying sizes. Colin rifled through a specific stack that looked like places from around Diagon Alley and pulled out the photograph of Ginny.

"That's beautiful!" said Ash recognizing Colin's potential talent from growing up surrounded by relics.

It was pretty amazing, Ginny had to admit. It made her a little self-conscious that she was the subject in something someone said was beautiful but she glowed a little inside too.

She was perfectly clear in the picture and everything behind her was slightly blurred out of focus, the sparks emitting from the wand made little bright spots that formed a perfect arc around her upper body following the trail through the air she had made when she had felt that it was her wand. She wasn't looking at the camera, like in the pictures she normally took with her family, but that somehow made it better. Instead, it let the observer see what she was seeing and feel what she was feeling in that particular moment.

"Why doesn't it move?" asked Ginny.

"All Muggle photographs are stationary," said Ash knowledgeably. "Only wizard ones brewed in a special potion are animated."

"You, I mean we, have animated photographs?" asked Colin in awe.

"Yeah, it's a pretty easy potion, every family has it in their household potions book," said Ash.

"What if your family doesn't have one?" asked Colin.

"They can be purchased now," said Ash. "It's not like hundreds of years ago when families passed down their grimoires."

"Hand-written books of spells passed down family lines full of spells people in the family invented," she added when she noticed Colin's blank look at the term. "My father prizes grimoires found in digs. If they can be translated and combed properly, forgotten spells can be re-patented. It's one of the ways he makes money," she trailed off.

"Family heirloom ones pretty much don't exist anymore," said Ginny.

A couple of hours into the train ride, Ginny, Colin, and Ash were having a great time getting to know each other until Percy popped his head into the cabin just before midday. "Ginny! There you are, I thought you would be sitting with the twins," he said.

"Why?"

"Never mind that," he said. "Ron and Harry are missing. Hermione just found me in the prefects' compartment and told me that she searched the entire train after asking the twins if they were supposed to have been on the Hogwarts Express with the rest of us." He rushed back out of the cabin.

"Is he talking about _Harry Potter_?" asked Ash.

Ginny froze in indecision, does she let on that her family is close to _the_ Harry Potter?

"Does your brother _know_ Harry Potter?" asked Ash.

Worried about Ron and knowing that there is always a slight danger being with Harry, Ginny was a little reserved when she said, "Yeah, Ron is one of his best friends." They were going to find out at school eventually she decided.

"That's so cool!" exclaimed Ash, "Can you introduce me?"

"Uh, to be honest, I've never actually talked to him myself," admitted Ginny. She was also not going to mention Harry staying with them this past summer.

"Who's Harry Potter?" asked Colin, "Who's Ron?"

Ginny and Ash looked around at each other, not knowing where to begin. Ash started, she told Colin Harry's basic story that all wizards knew about him defeating He-Who-Must-Be-Not-Named and Ginny recapped his Quidditch achievements and the finding of the Sorcerer's Stone last year. Colin was amazed that Harry Potter was only a year older than them.

Ash asked Ginny more questions about Bill's work and conversation centered around the Weasley boys for some time, all of whom Colin found compelling. Talk of her brothers being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team led to further explaining Quidditch which led to the House tournament every year at Hogwarts.

"What do you mean House?" asked Colin. Ash took over explaining again, the histories, the Founders, how some families are all over the place and others tend to be legacies in certain Houses. Colin admitted remembering some of this when a school representative visited, but at the time he was too excited about being a wizard to remember it all.

"Most of my family has been in Slytherin," said Ash. "It's the best for making political connections, but I wouldn't mind being around older Ravenclaw students who like to pursue all sorts of knowledge either."

"Which House is Harry Potter in?" asked Colin.

"Gryffindor," Ginny replied, "just like my whole family. Not just my brothers, my mum and dad too."

"So you're wanting Gryffindor then?" asked Ash.

"Yeah. My parents won't mind which House I'm in, and I actually told my dad it would probably be a toss-up between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff," she answered.

"Why Hufflepuff?" asked Ash.

"I'm the youngest of seven," said Ginny smiling, "sometimes I think I'm the only kind, honest, and fair kid my parents had." That garnered a laugh from everyone in the compartment.

"I have an older brother too," said Ash, "Dax is a sixth year Slytherin. Dad's been grooming him to take over the family business our whole lives because _he's_ the one who's going to pass on the Burke name," she said bitterly. "It's not fair, Dax doesn't even try and any time he does manage to do something right he gets all this praise. That's why I'm going to do my own thing."

"What about you," asked Colin to Ginny, "do you have an old family business to get into?" He seemed to feel better when she shook her head no.

"My father works for the Ministry," said Ginny.

Hermione and another boy entered the compartment late that afternoon. Hermione was still trying to piece together Ron and Harry's disappearance.

"Ginny, do you remember me?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah, you were shopping in Diagon Alley with my brother," said Ginny then she quickly made introductions for Colin and Ash and Hermione introduced the boy as Neville Longbottom. Colin looked excited at meeting two more of Harry Potter's friends.

"Do you remember exactly the last time you saw them?" Hermione asked.

"Not exactly. My mum walked with me through barrier at King's Cross and she told Ron and Harry to come together right after us. They were supposed to be the last ones through," said Ginny.

"So, maybe they never even got onto the platform," pondered Hermione.

"Percy will know what to do," said Ginny reassuringly. Ash and Hermione furled their eyebrows at that statement, but faith in her family was one of the few things Ginny felt one-hundred percent sure about.

"I don't think _Percy_ is capable of safe guarding against the kind of trouble that manages to find Harry," said Hermione flatly.

With that, Hermione and Neville left to go change into their Hogwarts robes. Ginny suggested to Colin and Ash that they should do the same.

When they felt the Hogwarts Express pull into the Hogsmeade Station and a voice told them to leave their luggage, Colin had the idea to walk all the way to the train door that led outside, that way they would be the first ones off.

"Firs' years this way!" Ginny saw Hagrid calling over the heads of all the disembarking students.

"That's Hagrid," said Ginny when she noticed Colin and Ash's eyes bulge at the sight of him.

"I saw him in Diagon Alley!" said Colin excitedly, "He's huge!"

Hagrid was leading them all to the side of a lake where scores of little boats were calmly floating. Ginny saw a familiar cascade of white blonde ringlets sitting in a boat by herself.

"Four to a boat," boomed Hagrid who was still herding first-years. Ginny beckoned Colin and Ash to the boat with the lone girl and introduced them both to Luna.

Once all the first-years were seated, the boats began to glide across the lake and a silence fell over all the passengers. Everyone was eager with anticipation to see the Hogwarts castle for the first time. It was beginning to grow dark so when the turrets of the castle became silhouetted against the sky there were many audible intakes of breath.

Colin fumbled for his camera and waited with it pressed to his eye for their boat to be precisely positioned before taking a shot of the castle. He took a few more after fiddling with some of the knobs. "I can't wait to see how these turn out, especially that first one," he exclaimed.

After they had sailed quite a bit closer Ginny watched him focus his lens a bit more and asked everyone in the boat to duck down so he could clearly see over them. From her crouched position, Ginny watched as he rapidly took a series of shots with a slight change in angle from left to right in between each.

"What was that for?" she asked after he let them straighten up again.

"A panoramic, they're pretty difficult to take. Especially from a moving platform, but I think it'll turn out okay," Colin replied.

"Lucky the lake was so placid today," remarked Ash. Luna nodded serenely in agreement.

"What's a panoramic?" asked Ginny.

Colin took a deep breath like he was going to give a lengthy explanation, but seemed to decide against it. "I'm just going to have to show you."

They neared a cliff that the castle was sitting at the top of and Ginny heard Hagrid's voice boom out again, "Ev'rybody! Heads down!" For the second time Ginny bent down low within the boat as the fleet went under hanging ivy, disguising a cave opening within the cliff. Once there, they all sailed through a dark tunnel coming to a landing underneath the castle itself. Hagrid led them all up a narrow path which ended at a door. Three booming knocks and the door swung open. On the other side was a tall dark-haired witch with a stern face. "This year's crop o' firs' years, Professor."

"Thank you, Hagrid. That will do," she said. "All of you, my name is Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress to Hogwarts. Form a line please, and then follow me."

All the first-years scrambled into a haphazard line, Luna led their little foursome group to a place somewhere in the middle and Ginny stood right behind her. Colin motioned for Ash to get in line next in a 'lady's first' fashion but Ginny glanced over and met Ash's eyes. They had a silent acknowledgement to protect and stand in solidarity with their new Muggle-born friend in this unfamiliar environment while the pack of first-years moved through the school. At the same moment, both of them put their hands on Colin's shoulders and thrust him in line between themselves, Ginny ahead and Ash bringing up the rear of their section of the line.

"What the heck—" Colin started to say, but Ash just shushed him and faced him forward. Professor McGonagall had looked over to see what the commotion was and Colin clamped his mouth shut and stood quietly. When the line began to move Colin glanced between them, clearly puzzled, but started to look around in wonder, and picked up his camera to take pictures once they reached the Entrance Hall.

Professor McGonagall led them to a small empty chamber where she addressed the first-years more formally, **"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room."**

" **The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours."**

" **The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." (** **1)**

Ginny knew from hearing her brothers talk about their Sorting Ceremonies that Professor McGonagall was telling them all exactly what she told every group of first-years. Nevertheless, it was still intimidating when her eyes lingered on Colin's camera he had raised to take a picture of the room they were in. Realizing that Professor McGonagall was looking at him, he slowly let it hang around his neck again and backed up a bit. Moving as one, Ginny and Ash stepped a little closer together in front of him as if shielding Colin from Professor McGonagall's shrewd look.

" **I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall,** the smallest glint of a smile in her eyes as she glanced away from Colin. **"Please wait quietly." (** **2)**

Ginny, Colin, and Ash listened as many of the students began to whisper about what sort of examination they would have to go through with the whole school watching.

"What if you don't pass, what if none of the Houses want you?" asked Colin worriedly.

Ash gave Colin a reassuring smile, "You got your letter, you'll get a House too."

Professor McGonagall returned, and looked around with approval that they were still formed up in lines. Beckoning them all to follow her again, she led them into the Great Hall.

It was just like Percy had described it. Candles floating in mid-air lighting the giant space. The ceiling bewitched to reflect the sky outside. Four long tables were filled with the older students and at the other end of the hall was a fifth table were the teachers and staff sat.

Ginny quickly looked around and found the table where most of her brothers were sitting, and where she imagined Bill and Charlie once sat. She saw the twins taking part in jeering at the first-years and Percy gave her a small wave. Hermione and Neville were sitting near them at the same table but she couldn't spot Ron or Harry anywhere. Professor McGonagall had them all line up in one long row in front of the staff table and then turn around and face the older students, the teachers' table to their backs.

With no cue that Ginny noticed, the entire hall quieted down at once. Professor McGonagall silently placed a three-legged stool in front of the first-years, and on top of that an old pointed wizard's hat. When she stepped back everyone turned their attention to the hat. Colin once more made to raise his camera and pointed the lens in the direction of the hat, but trying to avoid any more embarrassing attention both Ginny and Ash silently put a hand over it and forced him to lower his arms again.

Colin jumped a bit when a rip near the brim opened and the hat began to sing:

 _Welcome! Salutations!  
Let's begin with this address.  
For many generations  
Young students, I assess.  
I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,  
I'm really quite astute.  
Once chosen, arguments fall flat,  
As I don't allow dispute.  
So step on up, don't be shy,  
And place me on your dome.  
Deep inside your mind, I'll pry,  
So I may find your home.  
Hear me now, as I speak,  
Each House's noble lore.  
Which of these does interest pique,  
Exceptional Houses four?  
Loyal Badgers show their grace,  
Steady, sure enough.  
Fiercely protective of their space,  
Tenacious, kindly, Hufflepuff!  
And nothing dares too daunting,  
For the intrepid Lion's roar.  
Courageous spirits flaunting,  
In gallant Gryffindor!  
Or perhaps an Eagle in the sky,  
Broad visions they may draw.  
All endeavors aiming high,  
In passionate, Ravenclaw!  
Or once the Serpent's on your side,  
Elite brotherhood within.  
Cunning and ambitious stride,  
Do not mistake, great Slytherin!  
Now upon your noggin, I will sit,  
Your thoughts I shall decipher.  
Once decided, 'twill be writ,  
Good luck to all, whomever!_

Everyone, staff and students alike, began to clap for the Sorting Hat's song. Professor McGonagall walked to the front again and held a long roll of parchment. **"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. (** **3)** "Alderton, Katherine!"

A girl with dark brown hair and green eyes walked over to the stool, lifted the hat, sat down, and placed it on her head. A heartbeat later, the brim of that hat opened wide again and shouted, "RAVENCLAW!" loud enough for the entire hall to hear.

The second table from the main entry door burst into applause, some of the students standing up whilst cheering on the newest addition to their house. The dark haired girl took off the hat, grinning from ear to ear and set it back on the stool and ran to join her Hogwarts family.

"Archer, Terra!" A dark skinned girl apprehensively approached the stool.

After a moment the hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The table next to the one where her brothers were sitting erupted into cheers this time.

"I can't believe we have to try on that nasty old hat," said a snobby looking girl a few people down on the other side of Ash. "It's so old and dirty, it's disgusting." Ash rolled her eyes so that only Colin and Ginny could see her.

"Avery, Kindra!"

"That's another old family last name," Ash whispered to Colin. The girl who thought the hat was disgusting walked up to the stool. She picked it up touching it as little as possible.

She hadn't even sat all the way down on the stool while lowering the hat over her head at the same time, when the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" All the Slytherins began shouting, "AVERY! AVERY! AVERY!" Kindra Avery happily tossed the hat back onto the three-legged stool and sauntered over to the table on the far right nearest the main entry door, the one farthest from the table where Ginny's brothers were sitting.

"Baker, Charity!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Charity went to sit next to Terra Archer.

"Burke, Ashantae!" Ash gave Ginny and Colin an excited look and walked over to the stool. She sat down, took a deep breath and placed the hat on her head determinedly. It was several moments before the hat moved, significantly longer than any of the other first-years so far.

Finally, the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

Once again all the Slytherins began shouting, "BURKE! BURKE! BURKE!" The loudest Slytherin had stood up and was leading the rest of them in the shouting, punching his fist into the air with every shout of her name. He looked like he was probably the brother Ash had talked about on the train ride, Dax.

"Calhoun, Connor!" was the first boy Professor McGonagall called out of the line.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Carpenter, Dylan!" followed Connor into Ravenclaw, and then it was "Cassidy, Thaliana!" who became the first Gryffindor. The table where Ginny's brothers sat to the far left exploded with applause. Thaliana went to sit at an open space near Hermione.

Ginny was sure Colin was going to be next, but Professor McGonagall then called, "Cooper, Cepheus!"

"SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table exploded again, but this time there was no chanting of "Cooper! Cooper! Cooper!" Ginny supposed this was because it wasn't one of the old family last names. Nevertheless, many of the Slytherins still greeted little Cepheus with enthusiasm.

"Creevey, Colin!" Ginny started when she heard Colin's name. She was watching the Slytherins and forgot that alphabetically he would be coming up.

Colin went to sit on the stool and jammed the hat on his head. In next to no time, a big smile cracked across Colin's face just before the Sorting Hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Once again the table Ginny's brothers sat at exploded into applause. Colin went and sat in another empty spot near Hermione and motioned that he was saving a seat for Ginny. Then he looked over across the hall to the Slytherin table and a look of concern fell over his face that Ash sat all the way over there. Ginny just shrugged with a "that's life," look when Colin's pained expression came back to hers.

"Deverill, Charlotte!" and "Faulkner, Emerson!" became back to back Gryffindors right after Colin. The Gryffindor spots were filling up fast now Ginny noticed. Knowing Weasley was going to be at the very end of the line, Ginny settled into waiting for the majority of the first-years left around her to be sorted.

At "Jones, Gwendelyn!" a staff member who hadn't been watching the Sorting came into the room from a door behind the teacher's table. He had dark-black, oily-looking hair and he bent his head down to whisper into the ear of a man with half-moon spectacles and a long white beard. The wizard with the beard motioned to a very short staff member who stood up and went to speak to Professor McGonagall. He took her long roll of parchment and she pointed to where she was at on the list. Professor McGonagall, the oily-haired wizard, and the wizard with the long white beard went to stand in a quiet corner and had a discussion that seemed urgent to Ginny.

After the Sorting Hat shouted "SLYTHERIN!" and Gwendelyn Jones went to join Ash and Kindra, the short staff member introduced himself.

"Hello, I'm Professor Flitwick, I'll be finishing the Sorting for Professor McGonagall. Up next is, Lawless, Logan!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Li, Mei!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Lovegood, Luna!"

Ginny watched as the last person she knew who was still standing in line with her approached the stool. Luna picked up the Sorting Hat and dramatically placed it on her head as though she were doing a scene in a play. Well, she is technically on stage thought Ginny, smiling.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Well, will you look at that, Ginny thought to herself again. I arrived here at the castle knowing all of three other first-years and wouldn't you know that each one of them was put in a different House? That means I must be going to Hufflepuff. It would round everything out nicely she thought worriedly.

There weren't that many people left to be sorted now.

"Pyrites" . . . , "Reilly" . . . , "Riordan" . . . , then a "Rosier" for whom the Slytherin table had leaned forward with bated breath only to be disappointed when he was placed in Ravenclaw. "Ruiz" . . . , "Smith" . . . , "Sullivan" . . . , and then a "Vasquez, Ana Lucia!" Finally, there were only two people left waiting to be sorted.

"Weasley, Ginevra!"

Ginny rolled her eyes at the use of her full first name and that alone was enough distraction from the butterflies in her stomach to allow her to walk towards the stool and place the Sorting Hat on her head.

"Well, aren't you a force to be reckoned with?" asked a small voice in Ginny's ear. It could only be coming from the Sorting Hat. She hadn't heard it talk to the other students it had Sorted, so she must be the only one who could hear it at the moment. "I wouldn't expect anything less than a powerful force from the first Weasley girl in seven generations though," said the hat with genuine interest.

"You have a very inquisitive mind," it said and Ginny was surprised that maybe it was considering putting her in Ravenclaw. "Ravenclaw?" whispered the hat, "There I'm sure you'd do well, but that isn't where you belong."

Sensing her thoughts that she belonged in Hufflepuff, it muttered again, "Yes, I could see you fitting in with those who are fair-minded, and they would certainly help you develop an inquisitive mind." Heart plummeting, anticipating the hat proclaiming her a Hufflepuff Ginny began to mentally fight against the hat's obvious choice.

She decided right then and there that she WANTED to be a Gryffindor. No longer was she just happy to be attending Hogwarts. She was just as magical as anyone else here and she would fight for where she wanted to be. She wanted to hang out in the common room with her brothers and with Colin, she wanted to try out for the _Gryffindor_ House Quidditch team and wear the same robes in scarlet and gold as her brothers with her own number on the back. She mentally demanded that the hat let her Hogwarts family and her Weasley family be one in the same.

Throughout this emotional mental tirade Ginny went through, the Sorting Hat had been quiet. It listened to the fire that brewed up so easily, seemingly out of nowhere, to fuel Ginny's determination to stand up for herself. It stayed patient while it let Ginny find out for herself that she had goals, she had expectations, and she had a spine to throw behind exactly what she thought.

"Well, let's see now," it whispered, "Inquisitive mind, fair in the heart, fearless in scores, belongs in . . . GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted the last word for the whole hall to hear and the Gryffindor table burst into applause as they welcomed another Weasley into their fold.

Colin scooted over and laughingly said, "See? I saved ya a seat again!"

"It felt like I had that hat on for forever," said Ginny.

"You weren't the longest person," replied Colin, "but you weren't exactly quick either. What'd it say to you?"

"Um, we fought . . . maybe," said Ginny, puzzling out how the hat incited her into fighting for what she wanted instead of just going with the flow like she usually does. "Did it talk to you too then?"

"Yeah, it said I could work on my 'passion for photography' in Ravenclaw, but I wanted to be in the same House as Harry Potter, and the one you would most likely be in," said Colin. "I guess it eventually agreed."

Just then Ginny heard someone with an Irish accent lean over and ask Hermione if she'd heard about the rumor going on about Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. Ginny and Colin both leaned closer and listened intently as a boy named Seamus said someone had a copy of the _Evening Prophet_ with an article of a Muggle car seen flying north from London.

Professor Flitwick announced the name of the last student standing that was waiting to be sorted, "Zhang, Tai!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" With that the Sorting Ceremony was over. Professor Flitwick rolled up the parchment and picked up the Sorting Hat and the three-legged stool and carried them all out of the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall went out the door behind the staff table with the oily-haired wizard.

The wizard with the long white beard moved to address the students next. "Welcome! Welcome to yet another year of learning here at Hogwarts."

"Is that Dumbledore?" whispered a first-year boy who would be sharing a dorm room with Colin. Ginny racked her brain for his name but couldn't remember it from the sea of names that was announced during the Sorting.

"Yeah," whispered another one back to him.

"Before we begin, let me say a few words," announced Dumbledore. "Feast founds, forthwith!"

Most of the Ravenclaw table burst out laughing. Hermione and Percy were among the few Gryffindors who understood and chuckled to themselves. Colin caught Ginny's eye to see if she understood what the Headmaster said but they both just shrugged and applauded along with everyone else in the Great Hall until Dumbledore also disappeared through the door behind the staff table. Before either of them could ask what that meant, the golden plates on the table magically filled with food. Ginny saw all sorts of dishes she was familiar with from her mother's cooking, and a few odd things that she had never seen before.

Colin's initial surprise was short lived, he elbowed Ginny and nodded in the direction of Hermione and the twins, who were in deep conversation with some other Gryffindors Ginny didn't recognize. She caught the words _flying car_ , _tree_ , and _expelled_.

The Welcoming Feast couldn't be over soon enough. Sick with worry for her brother and Harry Potter, Ginny followed Percy's example and quietly listened while the other first-year Gryffindors were introducing themselves to the older students. The boy who asked about Dumbledore was named Jasper Greene, a half-blood who loved Muggle sports. The one who answered him was named Jai Misra a pure-blood of Indian heritage. The other boys in Colin's dorm, Emerson Faulkner and Blake Sullivan, were also half-bloods.

The only first-year girl sitting close enough to Ginny for her to learn anything about was Thaliana Cassidy. She had dirty-blonde colored hair and talked about some of the instruments that she liked play. She seemed somewhat interesting to Ginny, except that when she spoke it was always with an air of authority. The other three Gryffindor first-year girls were seated too far away for Ginny to get introduced to.

After her and Colin had finished eating, Ginny glanced back up at the staff table again and was surprised to see that all three members who had left earlier were now back and enjoying the feast. When Professor Dumbledore cleared his plate, long after most everyone else had, Ginny was taken aback that all the dishes were magically wiped clean at once.

Leaning back when it happened, Colin looked at Ginny with a look of fascination on his face and said, "That was so cool! It appears, and then disappears!" Now Ginny knew why her mum said to be happy that her brothers at least carried their plates to the sink after meals at home. They literally had to do nothing here at Hogwarts.

Everyone in the hall quieted down when Professor Dumbledore got to his feet to address them once more, "Now that we are all fed and watered, I have a few start-of-term-notices."

Professor Dumbledore explained to the first-years that the forest was forbidden to all students, no magic was allowed in the corridors, and that Quidditch tryouts were to begin next week. These were all things Ginny already knew though from her brothers, she just wanted to find out what happened to Ron and Harry.

"Finally, I want you all to give a nice warm welcome to our newest Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Gilderoy Lockhart," Professor Dumbledore gestured towards Lockhart who was sitting between Professors McGonagall and the oily-haired Professor. Lockhart stood up, waved his hands in a few quick circles, and took a deep bow for the applause that broke out around the hall. He was wearing robes of what Ginny could only describe as grape and clearly stood out from the rest of the staff members, all of whom were wearing black for the Welcome Feast. Ginny was among the few who did not clap exuberantly at the idea of a celebrity being everyone's new teacher.

Once they were released, Percy began to call for all of the first-years to follow him and the other prefects up to Gryffindor Tower. Ginny thought about going with a different prefect for a moment but then thought better of it. With Ron missing she dutifully got into Percy's line with Colin right behind her. Percy gave her a nod of acknowledgement and then began to explain tricky parts of the castle to her group as he showed them secret passageways and short cuts up to the common room. Colin picked up his camera again, and pulled Ginny to the back of the line so they could straggle a little way behind everyone else.

"I just want to take some shots of these hidden passageways for my dad," said Colin.

"That's not very secretive of you," commented Ginny. She really wanted to laugh but was still too filled with worry for her brother.

"Dad won't know the difference."

When the group made it all the way up to the portrait of the Fat Lady, Percy told them that they would need to give her a password every time they wanted to enter the common room. The password changed regularly but for now it was 'wattlebird.'

Everyone scrambled through the hole behind the portrait and Ginny and Colin got their first look at the Gryffindor common room. It was spacious, round, and full of squashy armchairs with some tables for doing homework and a large fireplace on one side. Percy directed the boys to one door that led up to their dormitory and the girls to another that went up to theirs.

Ginny glanced at the door to the girls' dormitory and looked back at Colin. It was the first time they would be separated since they began this journey together of leaving behind everything they knew.

"Meet for breakfast tomorrow? Here, at like seven?" asked Colin.

Immense relief swept through Ginny, she knew she could find her way back down to the Great Hall in the morning with one of her brothers and sit with them at breakfast, but it made her feel much better knowing that she would be with a fellow first-year who wanted to hang out with her and would actually be attending classes with her. She smiled and nodded her head yes and went to explore her dorm room.

She found a door with a plaque that read First-Years on it, and when she opened it saw that the only other girl who had so far arrived was Thaliana.

"Lights out within the hour. I want all of us fresh for our first day of classes tomorrow," she immediately said to Ginny. Thaliana sat at her vanity and began to brush out her hair.

"No problem," replied Ginny rolling her eyes. She located the bed her trunk was next to and pulled out Tom Riddle's diary. She thought about writing in it, but put it down again in favor of picking out her clothes for the next day and putting them on top of her own vanity folded up. Then she checked her bag and put the general class materials inside it: parchment, quills, and some folders. She would add the necessary books after getting her schedule.

Then she went back down to the common room. Colin must've stayed up in the boys' dormitory, no doubt taking more pictures. Downstairs, Hermione was pacing. Eventually Hermione couldn't take no real news anymore and declared that she was going to go talk to Professor McGonagall. While she was away, the twins and their friend, Lee Jordan came back down from their dorms and excitedly talked with more confidence about Ron and Harry having arrived at school in the Weasley family Muggle car. People were passing around copies of the _Evening Prophet,_ reading some sections out loud.

Less worried about _where_ her brother and Harry were, and now only concerned if they had been expelled or not, Ginny waited with many of the older students for them to finally arrive in the common room. Everyone grew quiet when they heard a commotion on the other side of the portrait hole.

" **Skip the lecture," said Ron impatiently, "and tell us the new password."**

" **It's 'wattlebird' . . ." (** **4)** Ginny heard Hermione say before the twins and Lee Jordan shoved the portrait hole open and grabbed Ron and Harry and yanked them back through the hole, drowning out the rest of Hermione's words. Everyone started yelling and clapping them on their backs and praising them for their unbelievably awesome entrance into the school year. Hermione was left to scramble through the hole by herself after them and stood there with a scowl on her face while the rest of the common room talked excitedly.

Ron and Harry confirmed that yes they drove the car to school, yes they crash landed, but no they weren't expelled. Fred and George claimed that they would have went with them, if they had known. Lee Jordan couldn't stop going on about them using the Whomping Willow as a landing site. Then Percy came back downstairs from his dorm and Ginny watched Ron and Harry immediately disappear up to their room before he could tell them off.

Percy went over to check on Ginny after they disappeared upstairs, "Our brother is fine, are you going to be able to sleep okay?" Ginny nodded her head yes. "Off to bed then."

Ginny went back to her dorm room. The other three Gryffindor girls were up there now.

"Lights out in twenty minutes!" said Thaliana. A girl with very tan skin and dark chocolate brown hair and eyes rolled them behind Thaliana's back. Another one with light blonde hair who was already sitting on her bed in her pajamas smiled over the book she was reading at the dark haired girl in a sort of covert agreement. Ginny's last roommate didn't roll her eyes or smile. She had merely glanced at Thaliana when lights out was announced and obediently finished getting ready for bed. Ginny pulled her pony tail lower so it was more comfortable to sleep in and decided to puzzle out these girls tomorrow.

If Thaliana wanted to be large and in charge, that was fine with her. If the other girls wanted to giggle and rebel that was fine too. Ginny didn't want any part of any of it. She snuggled under her covers and fell asleep almost instantly. She thought about her first night sleeping so far away from all her family members only for a few seconds before drifting off.

Quote References:

(1) SS/PS Page 114  
(2) SS/PS Page 114  
(3) SS/PS Page 119  
(4) CoS Page 84


	6. Chapter Six: Old Feuds and New Friends

Chapter Six: Old Feuds and New Friends

On Wednesday morning, Ginny sat at her dorm vanity slash personal homework desk near her bed. She was trying to decide if she wanted to wear her hair up or down for her first ever day of classes. Glancing around the room, Thaliana was the only other girl in the dorm also already awake this early. She seemed to be in the same conundrum as Ginny.

Deciding to ignore Thaliana's bossy tone the night before, Ginny called to her with a friendly smile, "So what do we do? Down and free or up and ready for action?"

"I don't know," was Thaliana's resigned reply. "I don't know what classes we'll be having. If we'll be outside or not. Are we going to be sitting and taking notes all day so I can wear it loose and curly?" She sighed, "Are we going to be in the greenhouses so I should have it up and out of the way?"

Ginny decided to pull hers into the side-part ponytail she worked on all summer, and sprayed the Muggle hairspray in her hair to get started.

"What's that?" asked Thaliana.

" _That_ is the smell of nasty, cheap, Muggle hairspray!" announced Richelle Ruiz, yanking back her four poster hangings and simultaneously waking the other girls in the dorm room. She tossed her dark chocolate colored hair over her shoulder, "And it's the sound of you ladies needing some professional help!"

Within a half an hour Richelle had all her Muggle hair tools out and was curling and straightening where it was needed or wanted.

She gave all the Gryffindor girls a nice down look for breakfast and individual accessories to put their hair up later if necessary. In Ginny's hair she placed a small metal barrette to hold her side part in place and made her wear black hair ties on her wrist that would blend in with her Hogwarts robes.

Since Richelle had curled Thaliana's hair, she clipped a toothy, plastic, butterfly-looking thing to her bag strap and then then told her, "If I see a rubber band _anywhere_ near your hair today, I'm going to cut if off! You come find me if you need help putting it up!"

Takara Himura was the only one who declined Richelle's assistance, pulling the top half of hers into a ponytail at her crown like she had worn it at the Sorting yesterday. "How did you learn all this?" she asked Richelle while watching her finish with the last Gryffindor girl, Charlotte.

Richelle tilted her head in Takara's direction and said, "Mi madre is a Muggle hairdresser. She owns her own salon." She showed off her slight Spanish accent when she said 'Mi madre,' but otherwise Ginny never would have noticed it. Richelle was just finishing the last touches on the tips of Charlotte Deverill's light blonde tresses. When she deemed her finished Ginny was reminded of the way little yellow baby ducks' feathers would curl up at the tips of their tails. The look went well with Charlotte's layered hair.

Just before seven, the first-year girls heard other Gryffindors outside their dorm on their way downstairs and rose to follow them.

Ginny found Colin in the common room with the first-year boys. A prefect collected them all and led them downstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast. Thaliana and boy named Blake Sullivan from Colin's dorm volunteered to get maps and go with the prefect to their Head of House to get their schedules once they were all at breakfast. With the prefect busy giving those two instructions, this gave Ginny and Colin time to lag behind the group.

"Why do you have a bag with you?" asked Ginny. The boys didn't know what classes they had today any more than the girls did, so he wouldn't know what text books to bring either.

"It's just my camera," replied Colin. He took his light off the top of the camera and carefully placed it in one of the bag's compartments. "You shouldn't take pictures of portraits with the flash," he said when he saw Ginny watching him curiously.

Down in the Great Hall, the tables were full of food already. Colin glanced at where the prefect was seating the first-years together, but beckoned Ginny a few seats down from them.

"What are we doing?" she asked, though she had a feeling she already knew. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were only a few seats away.

"After that stories you and Ash told me yesterday, I wanted to get a picture of Harry," Colin said sheepishly. "He's friends with your brother Ron, can you introduce me?"

"No!" replied Ginny, turning slightly pink. " _I'm_ not friends with him. Only some of my brothers are!"

Thaliana came over, "There you are Ginny! You're so far away I thought I lost you for a second. Are you Colin Creevey?" she asked turning towards Colin. He nodded. "Blake! He's over here!" she shouted to one of the boys Ginny had seen Colin sitting with earlier.

Blake walked down to them and dropped a schedule in Colin's lap. "Here," he said as he checked a box on a list he had, "make sure you follow me when we leave to get our stuff." Then he abruptly turned and strode away again.

Thaliana furled her eyebrows at Blake and then she looked at Ginny, "This morning is probably going to be all note taking and this afternoon we are outside. Bring extra quills and a sharpener and dress for the weather, I think it's going to rain a bit later," she glanced up at the enchanted cloudy ceiling. "So make sure you pack a jumper. I'll be over there if you need me." She pointed in the direction the prefect had sat the other first-years and gave Ginny a copy of the schedule Professor McGonagall was handing out then went to sit for breakfast herself.

"Well, Blake is a real mother hen," said Colin sarcastically.

"Wanna trade?" asked Ginny, "Thaliana's probably going to write out a whole itinerary with sub-categories for the week." They both laughed and started piling their plates with food.

She started to look at their schedule when Colin jumped in alarm. Hundreds of owls were swooping into the Great Hall to bring the morning mail. He took out his camera and snapped some pictures of the flurry, and his last one he took of Ginny.

She gave Colin a look of exasperation to which he smiled and said, "What? It's the first time you looked like you saw something new since we got here." Shaking her head, they went back to watching parcels falling into people's laps and then Ginny noticed a familiar grey owl descending towards her brother Ron.

"Look, that's my family owl, Errol," she pointed him out to Colin who again raised his camera when he looked over and took a picture of him. That's when Ginny noticed everyone around Errol was leaning far away. Clamped in his beak was a bright red envelope.

"Colin! Put your camera away! That's a Howler!"

Colin stuffed his camera into the bag and started to ask, "What's a —" but he didn't need to finish. Ron had just opened the letter and everyone in the Great Hall clapped their hands over their ears at once.

"RONALD WEASLEY! . . ."

Ginny glanced over at her brothers. The Weasley kids seemed to be the only ones capable of looking around through the shouting because the twins were smirking at Ron while they covered their ears and Percy looked a combination of embarrassed and of expecting nothing less from their matriarch.

Meanwhile, Ron had turned bright red and had sunk so low in his seat Ginny could only see the top of his head. Everyone else in the vicinity had their eyes as tightly clamped shut as their ears.

When the shouting stopped at last and some laughter broke out around the hall, Ginny glanced over at Colin, "So . . . that was my mum."

"She seems nice," said Colin, with a hint of a grin. "But we've met. Remember, at Ollivanders?"

"Oh, yeah," laughed Ginny. Relieved that Colin had had a good first impression of her mother, she went back to their schedule, "Oh how fitting. Our first class about magic is History of Magic."

They headed out of breakfast early with the rest of the first-years to pack their bags in their dorm rooms and then followed Blake and Thaliana to Professor Binns's classroom.

When Professor Binns turned out to be a ghost and floated through the chalkboard, many of her classmates looked around at each other excitedly, including Colin. However, half way through the lecture Colin was the only one still paying attention and taking notes diligently.

Ginny had expected this after her talk with Percy on her birthday, but she never imagined a class could be this boring. It was the first time she never asked for a topic to be further explained for curiosity's sake.

Charms was much better. Professor Flitwick gave them an overview of all the charms they would be working on this term and flicked his wand at various objects to give examples of what he was looking for.

They spent the rest of the hour taking copious amounts of notes and practicing wrist movements and pronunciations. Ginny was completely taken by surprise when Professor Flitwick singled her out and brought her to the front of the class. He motioned for her to go through the basic wand swishes and flicks and then asked her to pronounce a few complicated-to-say spells for practice.

Little Professor Flitwick was absolutely overjoyed when Ginny nailed everything he asked of her, and set her with walking around the room and correcting her classmates with him until the period ended.

"Any other hidden talents I should know about?" asked Colin on their way to lunch.

"Shut it. That was embarrassing," replied Ginny. It had been disconcerting to have people she barely knew hanging on her every word.

"How did Professor Flitwick know you would do well?" asked Colin.

"I have six older brothers and a mum who trained us all in that stuff since we could talk," said Ginny. "He was probably expecting it." Like how Mr. Ollivander had been expecting me this past summer she thought to herself.

On the way back to the Great Hall, Thaliana and Blake announced for everyone to meet in the Entrance Hall after lunch so they could all go down to the greenhouses together for Herbology. Ginny and Colin had some time to kill after they were finished eating and Colin noticed Ron, Harry, and Hermione walking out to the Courtyard, away from the crowded Great Hall.

"Come on, mother hen and barely-there dad will have to walk right past us to go to the greenhouses! Let's follow them and see what they're up to!" said Colin.

"I know what they're going to be up to," Ginny tried to say, "nothing." But Colin wasn't listening. "Wait!" she yanked him back, "A bunch of Slytherins are coming!" she hissed.

"So what? Ash is a Slytherin and she's cool."

She tried to explain quickly, "Not Malfoy! He hates Harry!"

"Why?" asked Colin. He attempted to drag her closer to hear what Ron and Harry were talking about, but Ginny wouldn't budge any further.

"I don't know, it seemed like he was jealous last time I saw them together . . ." she didn't know what exactly Malfoy didn't like about Harry but she knew he was trouble. Colin moved forward to eaves drop on Ron and Harry but Ginny stayed by the door where she could see everything.

Ginny watched Hermione sit down and prop open one of Lockhart's fancy new books and ignore Ron and Harry completely. The only time Ginny saw Hermione do that in Diagon's Alley was when the boys were talking about Quidditch.

Eventually Ron and Harry stopped discussing whatever they were going on about and looked over at Colin, who had been staring at them from a little way away.

" **All right, Harry? I'm — I'm Colin Creevey," he said breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. D'you think, — would it be all right if — can I have a picture?" he said, raising the camera hopefully.**

" **A picture?" Harry repeated blankly.**

" **So I can prove I've met you," said Colin Creevey eagerly, edging further forward. (** **1)**

Ginny watched in horror as Colin began rambling at this point. Oh please, please, she thought to herself, don't look at his scar! Ugh, he looked at his scar. That's when Ginny heard a now familiar drawling laugh coming from behind her. Draco Malfoy and a couple of his cronies were coming out to the courtyard.

Colin was still rambling on to Harry Potter, **". . . maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, could you sign it?"**

" _ **Signed photos?**_ **You're giving out** _ **signed photos**_ **Potter?"**

 **Loud and scathing, Draco Malfoy's voice echoed around the courtyard. He had stopped right behind Colin, (** **2)** who looked wide-eyed at the size of his cronies who flanked him.

Now that the whole courtyard was listening, including the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff first-years getting ready to go to Herbology, Malfoy continued to mock Harry and tried to goad him into fighting.

" **You're just jealous," piped up Colin, (** **3)** who was trembling slightly in the shadow of the Slytherins.

"That's a Gryffindor for you," whispered one Hufflepuff boy to another. "They don't know when to back down."

Thankfully, Malfoy didn't lash out back at Colin directly, instead he addressed the general audience while he continued to make fun of Harry's scar and the Weasleys' finances. Ginny clapped a hand to her mouth when Ron whipped out his wand and she noticed the tip was taped back on with Spellotape. She'd seen magic at family reunions performed with a broken wand, it never turned out well. It must have happened during the car crash into the Whomping Willow.

Everything stopped the moment Hermione snapped her book shut. At first Ginny was impressed, until she realized everyone noticed what Hermione had noticed and that was Gilderoy Lockhart was striding into the courtyard, wearing turquoise robes of all colors.

" **Who's giving out signed photos?"(** **4)** he asked. Ginny rolled her eyes, _of course_ that's what he heard. **"Shouldn't have asked! We meet again, Harry!" (** **5)** Lockhart put his arm around Harry's shoulders and pinned him to his side while Malfoy and his cronies slipped away, **"Come on then, Mr. Creevey," said Lockhart beaming at Colin. "A double portrait, can't do better than that, and we'll** _ **both**_ **sign it for you." (** **6)**

Lockhart dispersed the crowd and Thaliana and Blake rounded up the first-years to go to Herbology. While she was waiting for Colin to pack away his camera so it wouldn't get dirty in the greenhouse, she watched as Lockhart steered Harry back into the castle.

"He makes me so mad," said Ginny, as her and Colin began making their way down to the greenhouses, following their classmates.

"Who? Malfoy?" asked Colin.

"Yeah, him too," said Ginny, "but I was talking about _Professor_ Lockhart."

"What? Why?" asked Colin, "What'd he do?"

"I don't know. I can't explain it. He just seems way over the top. Almost like he's fake."

"But he's done all those cool things in his books," said Colin.

"I'm still trying to figure that out," Ginny muttered.

When they arrived at the greenhouse door where their classmates were queued up, Ginny noticed that most of the windows were all steamed up. She made a quick glance in the direction of the other Gryffindor girls and sure enough Richelle was helping Thaliana use the butterfly clip to pull her curls up off her neck.

"Will you hold my bag for a sec?" Ginny asked Colin.

He dutifully swung one of the straps over his shoulder and said a very drawn out, "Okay."

Ginny took one of the black hair ties off her wrist and pulled her hair into a pony tail. Since the barrette had held the side-part in place all day it went up much easier than usual. Ginny repositioned the barrette to hold up some of the really short hairs underneath the pony tail to keep them off her neck while she would be in the sweltering humidity of the greenhouse.

Colin handed her bag back when she held out a hand for it, "What was that all about?"

"You know when to put your camera light thing away, I know when I need to put my hair up," she grinned.

"It's called a 'flash,' and why did you tell me to put my camera away before that Howler exploded at breakfast?" asked Colin.

"I didn't want you to drop it and break it, although now that I think about it someone probably would've been able to fix it," said Ginny thoughtfully.

"Not the film if had been exposed to light," said Colin seriously. "Jai told me all about how to make the development potion last night so that my pictures will move and he said it's just like when Muggles develop their film. You can't let undeveloped film get overexposed to light, it's too powerful of a force for most wizards to fix." He said this all very fast.

Professor Sprout arrived then and ushered them all into the greenhouse. It was just as warm and sticky as Ginny thought it was going to be, but it had a pleasant clean smell of rich earth as though it had just rained.

Even though Herbology was a double lesson, it didn't distract Ginny much from her rekindled anger towards Gilderoy Lockhart who had been in the back of her mind during her conversation with Colin.

She hadn't formally studied plant life-cycles before but she was already familiar with the basics from helping out her mum in the family garden throughout every season. After taking a very short amount of notes which mostly consisted of the terminology for the basic parts of all seed plants, they were shown a pot of fluxweed. It looked as though it were already half dead.

Professor Sprout showed them all, for the benefit of the students who've never worked with plants, how to tell the difference between parts of the plants that could be removed and what needed to stay. Ginny had been deadheading for as long as she could remember so when Professor Sprout finished her demonstration she rushed Colin over to one of the sections of the greenhouse that only had two other students working in it. She realized only after they'd gotten there that they were the two Hufflepuff boys talking about Colin being a typical Gryffindor back in the courtyard.

"Have either of you two ever deadheaded plants before?" asked Ginny, rather a bit more sharply than she normally would have. They both shook their heads no. "Well, I have and the sooner we finish our section the sooner we can be dismissed."

"Sounds good," said the blonde one, the one who had whispered to his friend about Colin.

"I'm Ginny, this is Colin. We're just a couple of Gryffindors who don't know when to back down," she said calmly while looking the blonde one right in the eye. His friend broke into a huge toothy grin and backed up two steps with his fist in front of his mouth trying not to laugh too loudly.

The kid with the blonde hair's jaw dropped open, he looked as though he was trying to think of an excuse to back up what he said but in the end he simply let out a breath of air and said, "I'm sorry."

"I'm Joshua," he said, "this is my friend Keishawn," Joshua extended his hand out to Ginny. Colin, who had been watching the intensity of the conversation, looked at Ginny and jerked his head in the direction of Joshua's hand. Conceding, Ginny reached out, took it, and forced a smile.

"Good," said Colin, "I'm going to go get started."

Keishawn walked up and slung his arm around Joshua, Ginny noticed it was different than when Lockhart did it do Harry, Joshua didn't seem uncomfortable with the gesture, he didn't seem to look trapped. "Hey, I gotta explain. My boy here, he just helping me figure out this wizard world. All day he been showin' me things people do that match up with what House they in. He been showin' me the ropes, protecting me like." Ginny took in Keishawn's close shaved head, his dark skin, his bright brown eyes that crinkled into a real smile when he smiled.

She finally gave a genuine smile back, "Well, that's all I'm doing for Colin, he's in the same boat you are."

"There, see," he said, "we understand each other now." The two of them went to working on their section.

Ginny hesitated, "I'm sorry too." Both of the Hufflepuff boys looked back around at her from where they had started deadheading the plants. "I was mad before I got to class, at someone who isn't even here."

"That blonde boy? From Slytherin?" Keishawn pressed.

"Yeah, at him too."

Keishawn and Joshua looked at Colin inquiringly, hoping he'd explain her answer, but when Ginny shook her head slightly at him, he just shrugged and said, "It's complicated."

"It's the first day," Keishawn mumbled loud enough for them all to hear, "it's only going to get more complicated."

"Yes, it is," replied Ginny. She had been deadheading with speed and they were nearly done with their section by now. The boys watched the rhythm she was using to methodically get through their potted plants and began emulating her urgency. Ginny gave their area a quick second pass over and nodded her head in approval that it looked finished.

Keishawn and Joshua seemed happy they were the first group to complete their section, and when they spotted Professor Sprout all the way across the greenhouse, Keishawn took it upon himself to get her attention.

"PROFESSOR SPROUUUUUUT! WE DOOOOOONE!" he shouted across the building.

"Keishawn!" whispered Joshua, Keishawn whipped back around to look at him, "It's Professor Sprout, _ma'am_ when you address her."

"Oh, I MEAN PROFESSOR SPROUT MA'AAAAAAAAAM! WE DOOOOONE!" Keishawn repeated.

Professor Sprout meandered her way back to their section, stopping every now and then to point something out to one of the other groups. She gave their fluxweed plants a thorough look over and pronounced them healthy again.

Ecstatic that they got their first group project done on the first try, the boys took their bucket of leavings to the compost pile, dumped it, and cleaned it out. Then the four of them walked back up to the castle.

"Uh, oh, we didn't wait for instructions from Blake or Thaliana!" said Colin laughingly.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," said Ginny. "We'll see them in the common room before we have Astronomy at midnight." They were approaching the steps of the castle doors, from up here Ginny could see what must be Hagrid's hut in the distance near the Forbidden Forest.

"If you don't mind me asking, what instructions?" asked Josh.

"You know," said Colin, "the ones that the volunteer first-year leaders tell you when everyone is leaving for the next class about what to bring and how to dress." Both Keishawn and Josh stopped and stared blankly at Colin.

"Maybe it's a Gryffindor thing?" Colin said inquiringly and glancing at Ginny.

"I think it's a Thaliana and Blake thing," said Ginny blithely.

Quote References:

(1) CoS Page 96  
(2) CoS Pages 96-97  
(3) CoS Page 97  
(4) CoS Page 98  
(5) CoS Page 98  
(6) CoS Page 98


	7. Chapter Seven: Potions and Pictures or

Ginny Weasley and the Very Secret Diary

Chapter Seven: Potions and Pictures, or Alliances and Invitations?

 _Dear Mum,_

 _Yesterday was the longest school day ever! I think that was because after our normal day we still had Astronomy at midnight._

 _Herbology and History of Magic are okay. Charms seems like it's going to be a lot of fun. Professor Flitwick has definitely figured out your excellent teaching at home, because he pulled me aside and had me helping everyone else on our first day._

 _But I should get to the big news! I MADE GRYFFINDOR!_

 _You know who else made Gryffindor? That boy we met in Ollivanders, Colin! The girls in my dorm seem okay, but so far only Colin has really hung out with me here._

 _Colin's favorite class by far is Astronomy. We work together and he takes pictures of the night sky with this lens on his camera that makes the camera nearly as long as my telescope! He LOVES the telescope dad got for me for my birthday by the way._

 _He says he wants to see the stars twinkle in the photographs made in a wizard's potion. He just told me he'd send you some when he gets them developed._

 _Anyway, the only disappointing thing here is I heard a rumor that the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain isn't holding tryouts this year. I know I'm not old enough to try out, but I'd like to at least watch one so I know how they go next year. I guess he's determined to keep his team from last year._

 _I have Professor Lockhart's class first thing this morning, and I know you'll want to hear all about it, but I wanted to write to you right away after my first day to let you know that I'm okay and that I really like it here._

 _Give Dad my best, I miss you!_

 _Love, Ginny._

Ginny had been hanging onto that letter for her mother all day Thursday. She'd been debating with herself about adding a post script describing her first Defense Against the Dark Arts class with _Professor_ Lockhart. As she had expected, she instantly disliked the class in its entirety.

Lockhart started them off with a ridiculous quiz about himself to see how many students had read ahead in his books. Of course nearly everyone failed. Colin was the only one who received a decent score because he'd started devouring everything he could about the wizarding world since receiving his letter, but even he hadn't read all of Lockhart's books before term began.

Her first Transfiguration class had been much better. Professor McGonagall was strict but at the same time she was patient. She showed the first-years examples of what she would be looking for this term and Ginny suspected this class would be along the same lines as Charms.

When it came to taking notes for Transfiguration however, they were much more complicated than the ones Professor Flitwick gave them. Charms added something new to an already defined object and it seemed to be emotionally-based magic. Ginny couldn't even begin to describe Transfiguration. Colin said it seemed to be based sort of along the lines of logical Muggle science but that he hadn't learned enough in those classes during primary school before coming to Hogwarts to really explain it.

Luna was in their Transfiguration class, along with the rest of the Ravenclaws, and she sat near Ginny and Colin. Unlike most of their classmates however, she wasn't furiously copying down notes during lecture. Instead, she would follow along in their book, _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ , and underline or circle certain paragraphs or sentences. Sometimes she added a note here or there in the margins. What's more, even with Professor McGonagall explaining a difficult subject, Luna not only kept up with her, but she also paid attention to all of their fidgeting classmates who weren't hanging onto McGonagall's every word.

Ginny had never seen anyone study in class like that before. Neither Bill nor Percy ever talked about attending lectures and not taking notes. Not even the other Ravenclaws were using Luna's method. Professor McGonagall didn't seem to mind when she noticed Luna's strategy though, so Ginny supposed the professor had seen it before. It must have worked for Luna too. At the end of the lecture, when everyone had been given a match to attempt to turn into a needle, she was the only one who turned hers a little silver in color.

Ginny got up early on Friday morning to mail the letter back home. Colin went with her to the owlery and brought his camera. There were hundreds of owls and many more open roosts for those who hadn't returned from the night's hunt yet.

"Look, there's Harry Potter's Snowy owl, Hedwig," Ginny pointed out for Colin. He took that long lens out of his bag and zoomed into her on the rafters and got a couple of shots before Hedwig turned around and her tail faced them instead.

Ginny had a flashback of what Hermione said on the train, _"I don't think_ Percy _is capable of guarding Harry against the kind of trouble that seems to find him."_

"Colin, I don't think you should take pictures of Hedwig," said Ginny quickly. The protective instincts she'd picked up from her mother were returning.

Colin let his camera just hang around his neck again, "Why?" he asked.

"I just hear stories growing up. There are still You-Know-Who supporters out there that would go right back to him if he ever came back to power." She struggled to explain what she herself didn't quite understand. Right now she was just listening to her instincts.

"I'm listening," said Colin very seriously. "Everyone talks about him like he's a hero, but I know he's a kid like us."

"It's just," she tried to mimic things she'd heard her father tell her mother, "I know _you_ would never do anything to hurt Harry, but those pictures in the wrong hands . . . My dad says we shouldn't do anything that would make their job easier. Pictures of Hedwig would make intercepting Harry's mail and finding his location outside of school that much easier . . . wouldn't it?"

She watched Colin as a myriad of expressions crossed his features. Then he opened his camera and took out the film and held it up to the sunlight streaming in through one of the open windows. He pulled the remaining film out of the little black canister it was rolled up inside and over exposed all of it, even the parts he hadn't used to take pictures with yet.

Ginny grinned but Colin wasn't finished yet. "This is going to smell really bad," he told her. He pulled out the match Professor McGonagall had given them all to practice with as homework and struck it against one of the stones making up the wall of the owlery tower.

Ginny put her hands over her nose and mouth as Colin set one end of the roll of film aflame and watched as the fire quickly climbed the spiral of the elongated roll. Most of the burning film turned into a noxious gas and there was virtually no ash after the whole ordeal finished. What little ash that did drop to the ground Colin rubbed into the owl scat with the toe of his shoe on the floor until it was indistinguishable from its surroundings.

"Harry Potter is important to you, your family, and wizards everywhere. I want to help protect him too," said Colin matter-of-factly.

Just then the Little owl that had delivered the Weasley kids' booklists flew through one of the open windows. She circled one of the open rafters and when she spotted Ginny and Colin down at the bottom of the tower she flew down to land on one of the roosts near them.

Ginny reached out a hand and began rubbing the owl between her shoulder blades once more and again the owl sighed into the massage. Ginny politely asked if she would take a letter home to her mother for her and the Little owl held her leg out obligingly.

Colin had reloaded his camera with a fresh roll of film and took a few shots of the Ginny tying her letter to the Little owl before retaking some of the general shots of the tower that he had burned from his previous roll.

After the Little owl had set off for the Burrow the pair of them headed back up to Gryffindor Tower to prepare for their first Potions lesson. They were excited because aside from a few words in the Great Hall at meal times, they hadn't been able to spend much time with Ash since the train ride to school and the Gryffindor first-years were going to have Double Potions with the Slytherins this term.

The Gryffindors arrived early, but all the Slytherins were already there. Four of the Slytherin boys were sitting at one table, three of the Slytherin girls and the remaining boy were sitting at another. Ash and the last Slytherin girl were sitting at a table by themselves.

Even though there were many available open tables, so many that they all could have sat in pairs instead, Ginny and Colin joined Ash and the other Slytherin girl while the other eight Gryffindors split themselves girls and boys at two other tables. Everyone had heard tales of the Potions Master's low voice and nobody wanted to sit so far away that they wouldn't be able to hear him.

Ash's eyes lit up when she saw Ginny and Colin sit down, "I've been waiting since the schedules were passed out on the first day for this class to see you guys again!" Ginny sat down next to Ash with Colin on her other side. Ash introduced them both to Gwendelyn Jones, a near cousin to the famous Gwenog Jones who played Quidditch with the Holyhead Harpies. Ginny was deeply impressed.

"Do you get to go to her games and everything?" she asked.

Gwendelyn nodded, "When I'm on holiday sometimes, yeah."

"I've been following her since I started following Quidditch!"

"Your family roots for the Harpies?" Gwendelyn asked. It was a fair question, not many wizards rooted for an all-girl team.

"My family is all over the place, actually," said Ginny. "My brother, Ron, is a huge Chudley Cannons fan and the twins are die-hard Kestrals. We root for whoever we want. My eldest brother Bill likes to put together all the information of every team member of every team and change who he roots for every year," said Ginny.

There was a brief pause while everyone waited to see if Professor Snape was the sort of teacher to enter the classroom early, right on time, or a little late.

As the seconds ticked by, Colin broke the silence at their table. "So, are all of you Slytherins pure-bloods?"

Ginny's eyes grew huge but Ash just smiled, "I let Colin ask me whatever he wants," she explained to Gwendelyn. "As far as we've all been able to figure out about each other, we're all pure-bloods. Although, only three of us have the old family last names." She indicated herself, the girl who didn't want to put on the "dirty old Sorting Hat" and one of the boys at the table with the four Slytherin boys. "Kindra Avery has declared herself the spokesperson for all us first-years. She decides who's in and who's out."

"Ana Lucia Vazquez and Rydia Nolen have already made her cut, so has Sterling Pyrites," said Gwendelyn sullenly.

"She'll accept you once she realizes who you're related too. Kindra is about family ties not famous ones yet," said Ash sardonically. "Atticus Harper over there will figure it out any day now, once he learns your last name. He's a huge Quidditch fan too," she said leaning in Ginny and Colin's direction a bit. "His cronies include Cole Flint whose older brother is Captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, Cepheus Cooper who is very distantly related to that Black family, the ones who died out a generation ago, on his mother's side. Hence the name related to astronomy. And Logan Lawless. Lawless . . . is . . . still a mystery," she finished uncertainly.

"What about you Gyffindors?" asked Ash.

"Thaliana Cassidy isn't so much our leader as she is our mother hen," began Ginny. Colin grinned at her eye roll. "Her and Jai Misra are the only other pure-bloods, everyone else is half-blood."

"Except me," said Colin.

Ginny let out a small sigh. "Except Colin, who is Muggle-born."

"Everyone would've have found out eventually anyway," said Ash consolingly to Ginny.

"Charlotte Deverill, Thaliana Cassidy, and Takara Himura all grew up in the wizarding world, both Charlotte and Thaliana are also Britain's upper class in the Muggle world. Their families are liaisons with the Ministry so we can easily put wizards in prominent places like with the Muggle Prime Minister and such. Takara is quiet she hasn't let on much about her family yet. The other one Richelle Ruiz, didn't know she was a witch until she got her letter, her father was a Ministry diplomat who married her Muggle mother from Spain." Ginny looked at Colin, who took it as his cue to further explain his dorm mates.

"We don't talk about these things like this in the guys' dorm," said Colin. All three girls at the table smiled and shook their heads.

"So what do you know about them?" asked Ash.

"Blake likes to show everyone he is a capable leader; which he is I guess. Jai likes music, Jasper is huge into sports, wizarding and Muggle, and Emerson is . . ." he paused, "I get the impression that Emerson didn't grow up with a very good life before coming to Hogwarts and that he knows how to be bad . . . but he has a really good heart. He doesn't try to be bad, not that I've seen."

Ash glanced up at the clock, it was two minutes to nine o'clock. "Professor Snape will be here any second we better be ready to start taking notes right away."

At ten seconds to nine everyone was looking towards the doorway, waiting expectantly. When the clock struck the hour a door at the back of the classroom boomed open. Professor Snape strode in from a door that led to his office instead of the hallway making all of his students jump a bit.

Everyone was right, Professor Snape did talk quietly, but there was no need to sit at the front of the class. His voice carried to every corner of the room easily. They took notes on all the potions they would be working on this term and made charts based on which ingredients added what kinds of properties to different types of potions. At the end of the lecture he divided them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. Ash was paired with Sterling Pyrites from Kindra's table, Gwendelyn with Kindra Avery, Colin with Blake from his own dorm, and Ginny with Logan Lawless, the one who Ash described as a mystery.

"Weasley huh?" started Logan, "Most of you guys live out in the country right? I bet you guys have a lot of animals around huh?"

"No, not really, we have some chickens. A couple of owls, one of my brothers has a pet rat," Ginny answered.

"What?" he said incredulously, "if my family lived in the country I would have all sorts of things that I couldn't fit into a townhouse yard."

"Well, I raised a baby squirrel, and I visit my neighbors' horses."

"You have a pet squirrel!?" exclaimed Logan eyes very bright at the notion.

"No . . . I raised a baby squirrel and released him back into the wild," replied Ginny.

After the water in their cauldrons began to boil and it was time to add the ingredients, Logan stopped with the small talk, but that didn't mean he stopped talking. He began to tell stories of his dog back home.

"Did you train your dog yourself?" Ginny asked in a whisper, Snape had just glanced around the room.

"Since she was a puppy," he admitted back, also in a whisper.

"What breed?"

"A Norfolk Terrier," he said sheepishly, "We could only have small dogs in our townhouse apartment."

Ginny smiled in spite of herself, and decided Logan wasn't such a mystery after all.

Gryffindor first-years had Friday afternoons off. So after double potions and charms in the morning Colin and Ginny looked forward to the beginning of their weekend and decided to explore the grounds and later go over a list of school clubs that first-years were allowed join. After lunch they hustled their bags up to Gryffindor Tower, promising each other to spend all of Saturday morning working on homework.

Colin brought his camera and they began to hike around the lake. The giant squid could be seen in the distance floating near the warm surface and they walked around the edge of the lake until they were close enough to get pictures of it. Then they roamed around part of the castle.

The rest of the school had finished with their afternoon classes by now. Lots of students were enjoying the beginning of their first weekend on the grass. Eventually, the pair of them came to Hagrid's hut.

"What is this place?" Colin asked, taking a picture of the hut.

"You remember that guy who took us across the lake?" Ginny said, "he's Hagrid, the gamekeeper here, I heard he lives on the grounds. This must be his place."

They moved around back staying clear of the forest and looked at the garden that Hagrid tended to. Sure enough, they spotted him spraying something really foul on the cabbages.

Out of nowhere a giant black boarhound poked his head up from where he'd been sniffing something on the ground and bounded over to them.

Used to the big horses and evading chickens and garden gnomes popping out of their hiding places, Ginny easily side stepped the lumbering dog who couldn't change direction very easily. Colin however, was bowled right over. He didn't even try to block the dog who was now running his drool filled cheeks all over Colin's hair and the back of his neck. Instead, Colin was protecting his camera by hunching over it and cradling it in his arms.

"Argh!" Colin yelled every time the dog left another gob of drool on him. Ginny tried to pry the massive beast from him by pulling on the scruff of its neck but all she succeeded in doing was turning the dog's attention on herself instead.

"Back Fang! Back!" Hagrid's familiar boom rang out and the dog promptly sat on his haunches. "Don' worry, he's jus' bein' friendly," said Hagrid.

"It's okay," said Colin.

"Wha' brings a couple o' firs'-years this way?" asked Hagrid, who started to head back to the cabbages. Ginny and Colin looked at each other and decided to follow him.

"We heard you're friends with Harry Potter!" exclaimed Colin.

"Is tha' righ'?" Hagrid replied. He looked over at Ginny who blushed a bit in embarrassment. "You'd be Ron's sister then? The Weasley girl?"

Ginny nodded.

"I guess Harry, Ron, an' Hermione come ter visit me for a cup o' tea every once in a while, yeah," said Hagrid.

"Ginny told me all about how he saved the Sorcerer's Stone last year, and he had to get past your three-headed dog first before he did any of the other enchantments guarding the stone," said Colin eagerly.

"She did, did she?" asked Hagrid, glancing over at Ginny, making her blush even more. Ginny was mortified that Colin was spilling so much, but Hagrid _was_ a trusted friend of Harry's.

"You two becomin', sorta experts on 'im are yeh?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Ginny opened her mouth to reply but Colin beat her to it, "No, you have to pry every bit about him out of her! I didn't even get an introduction." He went on in a teasing manner, "I had to introduce myself and it took ages to get him to agree to let me take a picture and to agree to sign it later."

"He's goin' ter sign a picture fer yeh?" said Hagrid, genuinely interested now.

"Yeah, him and Professor Lockhart," said Colin beaming, "A double portrait."

At the mention of Lockhart Hagrid went back to spraying his cabbages with a small grunt that was unmistakably disapproving. He didn't miss Ginny's eye roll though at the mention of Lockahart's name.

"Don' like 'im do yeh?" Hagrid asked her.

However, both Ginny and Colin had their hands over the mouths and noses shielding themselves from what Hagrid was spraying on the cabbages.

"What is that?" asked Colin, slightly muffled.

"Flesh-eatin' slug repellent, so don' go touchin' it mind. This should be their las' treatmen'," said Hagrid. "Fang and me are done fer the day now, you two wanna cup o' tea then?"

Colin hesitated, Ginny knew he was supposed to meet with Jai Misra to find the photography potion in a library book and they had already made plans to black out a room so they could develop Colin's film.

Ginny had just planned on watching and maybe writing to Tom in her diary at the same time. She wasn't sure though if she was ready to share him with anyone else yet, and Colin would figure out pretty easily that Tom was writing back.

"I'll stay," said Ginny to Hagrid.

"I mean, developing your film is going to take a lot of concentration right?" she asked Colin.

"Yeah, and I kinda like to do it alone when I'm working on important stuff," Colin said with an apology in his eyes. "Jai was going to help with the potion and then I was going to work on developing the film after he said it was done."

"It's okay, I know you want to get it right, right away," said Ginny.

Colin carefully stepped around the recently sprayed cabbages and took off back up to the castle.

"Come on then," said Hagrid to Ginny, "I'll show yeh the pumpkins I've bin growin' fer Halloween, and yeh can tell me all abou' yer intentions fer Harry and why yeh don' like Professor Lockhart."

: : : : :

Ginny pondered on her conversation with Hagrid while she was sitting on her dorm bed where it was quiet, trying to magically light the candle on her bedside table. Every attempt so far had been unsuccessful.

She found that talking to Hagrid was as easy as talking to Tom in the Diary. He listened when she repeated what Hermione had said about Percy not being able to safeguard Harry, and how she wanted to help her family protect him like he was another brother. He listened when she complained about Lockhart making Harry feel uncomfortable at Flourish and Blotts. How Draco Malfoy took every opportunity to push Harry's buttons, but that it was his father, Lucius, that Ginny really didn't trust.

"So, Harry's like a brother ter yeh, is 'e?" Hagrid had asked after she finished her spiel.

"I guess," Ginny replied, "that's what mum said I should treat him like." That was more or less a lie, Ginny thought to herself. Molly said to treat him like any of her brothers' non-famous friends. It was Tom who said to treat him like a brother. It bothered her that both Hagrid and Tom in the Diary focused on her stance of seeing Harry as a brother and not on the bits about Lockhart or the Malfoys. Was Ginny the only one who was concerned for Harry's happiness while at school? Was everyone so focused on making sure he is physically safe that no one is thinking about his state of mind?

Professor Flitwick had them working on the basics of controlling the elements and fire was supposed to be easy, but so far even with her proper pronunciation and wand movements, Ginny hadn't had any luck charming a candle into doing exactly what it was supposed to do.

The other Gryffindor girls were downstairs in the common room, working on their matches from Professor McGonagall where older students could help them out. Under Thaliana's orders, they had spent their free afternoon working on their candles and had all managed not only to light a flame to the wick but also to push water up through a straw, which they would be working on in class on Monday.

Feeling behind, frustrated, and getting nowhere, Ginny took the opportunity to write to Tom in the Diary. "Dear Tom, It's not quite Saturday yet, but it is early Friday evening."

" _Hello Miss Weasley, I trust you survived your trip to Hogwarts, the Sorting, and your first few lessons?"_

"Yes, I was sorted into Gryffindor like the rest of my family after all," replied Ginny.

" _They must be very proud of you."_

"I don't know, I only sent mum a letter this morning, but I'm sure they are." After pouring her heart out to Hagrid about everything that had been bothering her lately, Ginny didn't feel the need to pour it out again to Tom as well.

" _So, have you made any friends? How are your classes going?"_

Ginny pounced on the topic of her most recent problem. She told Tom about how she already felt behind everyone else because they had spent their free time working while she fretted hers away visiting the gamekeeper, Hagrid. Instead of offering help like he had promised however, Tom turned the topic in another direction.

" _Do you mean Rubeus Hagrid? He's still there?"_

" _I thought he would be doing something else by now after he was caught and expelled in his third year."_

"Hagrid is one of Professor Dumbledore's most trusted staff members. I heard he rescued Harry Potter from his house after it blew up."

" _Professor Dumbledore is still there as well?"_

"Yes. He's the Headmaster, was he the Headmaster when you were here?"

" _No, I knew him as the Transfiguration teacher."_

"That's Professor McGonagall now. She's the Head of my House too."

" _Is Professor Slughorn still the Potions Master?"_

"No, I only know Professor Snape."

" _Snape?"_

" _I don't know that name. Is he of Muggle descent?"_

"I don't think so, he's Head of Slytherin House."

" _No matter."_

" _You said you felt behind."_

Ginny wrote about Professor Flitwick putting her on display during their very first class, but now she was going to be the last one to get her candle lit, which needed to be done before start of Monday's lesson.

" _Instead of willing a flame to appear, try to imagine the smallest structures of the wick rubbing against each other very quickly."_

" _Fire is essentially a by-product of that happening. It's kind of a cheat, but in time you will be able to will flames without a candle wick once you learn what the magic feels like."_

Ginny tried it the way Tom said and lit the candle on the first try. "It worked! . . . Do you have a trick for creeping water up a straw?"

Tom in the diary helped Ginny successfully get water to move up the same straw that the other Gryffindor girls left behind from earlier and he helped her turn her match pointy at the end. Although, try as she might she did not manage to turn it silver at all.

"I'm going to have to teach Colin these tricks so he can catch up too," Ginny commented.

" _Who's Colin?"_

"Colin Creevey is pretty much the only person I talk to here at school besides my brothers. I also became good friends with Ash Burke, but she was sorted into Slytherin so I don't see her much."

" _I don't know the name Creevey, is he a half-blood?"_

"No, he's a Muggle-born. His family was really excited to find out there was a reason he could do things other people couldn't."

" _And this Burke girl, you say she is a good friend from Slytherin?"_

" _What does she think of your friendship with a Muggle-born?"_

"Ash is Colin's friend too. She loves his idea of a wizard museum. She wants to build one now, and share wizard history with all wizards."

" _How on Earth did she end up in Slytherin?"_

"She's very smart and ambitious. Ash wants to be the first person in her family who is both an artifact expert and a curse-breaker. She wanted to be in Slytherin like the rest of her family for the political connections."

" _Clever and determined at such a young age, I can see it now."_

"Were you a Slytherin?"

" _I made this diary while I was still in school. To me, I am still in Slytherin."_

"Oh, right. I forgot you don't know about anything that happened in the last fifty years."

" _It is rather surreal. Like I'm talking to someone from the future."_

" _Did I miss anything interesting?"_

"There was a war, it ended before I was born but everyone still talks about it though. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named tried to take over everywhere and eradicate all the Muggles."

" _He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"_

"Yeah, nobody calls him by his name. Most people are still afraid and us kids get in trouble if we say it out loud."

" _Can you write it for me?"_

"Yeah, but just this one time okay? Nobody even really talks about him anymore, but the topic comes up when we have to explain to Muggle-borns."

"His name was Lord—"

"Ginny?"

Ginny snapped the diary shut and shoved it under her pillow. Then she flipped her Charms book open again before she opened the curtains around her four poster.

"Yeah?"

It was Takara Himura who had called to her from the dorm doorway.

"You're up here by yourself?" she asked.

"I was just practicing so I could catch up to you guys while I waited for Colin." She held up her match that she had managed to make pointy.

"You're further than us already," said Takara, impressed. "Colin's looking for you downstairs. I think he wants to show you something."

Ginny carefully piled all of her textbooks back onto their shelf and followed Takara down to the common room.

Colin was sitting at a table with a small pile of film strips in front of him. He had stack of pictures too. He picked up the top sheet of films strips and showed them to Ginny.

"They look like hills," she said, a little bewildered that Colin looked so excited.

"Yeah, you develop the film normally," said Colin. "It's when you develop the pictures that the magic happens! Look closer at those negatives."

Ginny picked up the short strip of film and held it up to the light. They all pretty much looked the same except they were all from slightly different angles. Then it dawned on her.

"These are those pictures you took of the castle! A pana-something you called it." However, all Ginny could make out on the negatives were the cliff faces and the sky.

"The castle is enchanted so that Muggles can't find it or see it properly right? So of course it won't show up on ordinary Muggle film or pictures! It's only after you develop the photographs in a wizard potion that the castle becomes visible!" Colin started laying out the stack of prints next to each other like a puzzle, except all the pieces had straight sides.

"A panoramic is a series of pictures, usually in a line, that together create one large picture," explained Colin. "You can set them all next to each other, or you can frame them individually and space them apart. However, you want them to look."

"That's amazing," said Ginny, "we should show this to Ash."

"Her and the other Slytherins are going to be in the library tomorrow night. I was going to show her then and make another set for Dennis and mail those out on Sunday."

"Can I watch this time?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, it was just the film development I was worried about before, but that's the same so that's easy. Red light is allowed during picture development and I can show you that."

Ginny stayed with Colin down in the common room while everyone around them planned their first weekend, but her mind kept wandering back upstairs to Tom in the diary. She mentally prepared an apology for being rude and abruptly ending their conversation without saying good-bye first.

The following morning after breakfast, Colin told her all about how he happened to wake up early and heard Oliver, the Quidditch captain she had pointed out a couple of days before, mention Harry's name in the stairwell and had gone to wake him up for Quidditch practice. Colin knew the rest of Gryffindor Tower wouldn't be awake yet so he grabbed his camera and followed Harry all the way out to the Quidditch field.

"He flies so well! And his Nimbus 2000 is so fast! Me and some of the other Gryffindors including your brother, Ron, and Hermione waited so long for the team to come outside, and when they finally did guess who showed up?"

"Who?" Ginny was starting to feel bummed that she missed watching the first Quidditch practice.

"The Slytherin Quidditch team! And guess who is their new Seeker?"

It only took Ginny one guess, she knew Colin didn't know many Slytherins, "Malfoy."

"Yup, his dad bought the whole Slytherin team brand new Nimbus 2001's!"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "So he bought his way onto the team?"

"That's what Hermione said!"

"I bet he didn't like that," said Ginny, amused.

"No, he called Hermione a . . . a . . . a Mudblood. Then your brother Ron got really mad and tried to curse Malfoy except his wand backfired, and he cursed himself instead. Ron was throwing up slugs everywhere. Harry and Hermione took him to Hagrid's to sort him out. I, uh, I think Harry was mad at me when I tried to take a picture," Colin turned a little pink at the same time he said that last bit.

"He called her a _Mudblood_?" Ginny's eyes flashed in anger.

"Yeah, what's that mean?" Colin asked in a quieter voice, picking up on Ginny's anger.

"It's a terrible name to call people who aren't pure-blood wizards, like their blood is dirty. It's ridiculous," replied Ginny.

"People like me?" asked Colin. He sat down, and his demeanor changed from excited to down-hearted.

Ginny tried to think of something comforting to say, "Hey, remember what Ash said? 'You got your letter, that officially makes you one of us,' or something along those lines?"

Colin gave a small smile, "Something along those lines."

The two of them spent the rest of the morning catching Colin up on Charms and Transfiguration homework. It took them awhile to hunt up a new match, since Colin had used his in the owlery. But Ginny made a deal with the twins and they gave her one from their box of random Muggle things they actually liked and nicked from their dad.

After lunch Colin was ready to push water up a straw and they were practicing in the common room when Ron, Harry, and Hermione came back from the Great Hall. Ron was no longer puking slugs and instead was moaning about his upcoming detention that night for crashing their dad's car into the Whomping Willow. Ginny grinned when she found out he had to do Muggle cleaning with Filch, the caretaker, whom none of the students liked. She felt bad for Harry however, when she found out he would be spending the evening with Lockhart.

Hermione came over to check on their progress. Ginny had noticed that Hermione checked on the progress of quite a few students in the common room in the evenings when she wasn't working on her own homework.

Ginny was in the middle of explaining to Colin what Tom in the diary had told her, "The water is attracted to itself, and it actually creeps up really thin straws all on its own. So all we are doing is encouraging it to do what it usually does naturally."

"Who told you that?" asked Hermione, "I don't ever remember Professor Flitwick mentioning it in class."

"He didn't. I . . . I read it in a book," said Ginny. "I was looking for something to help me."

"Oh, alright then. If you remember where you read it will tell me?" asked Hermione. "I'd like to read what else the author has to say."

"Okay." It was technically true, Ginny thought to herself.

Hermione gave them a few pointers of her own and when Colin really got the hang of controlling water, they went to get their Potions and History of Magic things and headed for the Library.

Both Professors Snape and Binns had assigned them five-hundred words essays about their respective lessons, and Ginny and Colin were going to meet up with Ash.

"Oh look, it's the Weasley girl and her pet!" squealed Kindra Avery the minute Ginny and Colin walked into the library. Kindra was surrounded by Rydia Nolen, Ana Lucia Vasquez, and Sterling Pyrites again.

"Shut it, Avery," said Ash who was sitting with Gwendelyn at a nearby table.

"Keep hanging out with her, and that family will be the only one left who will take you. Better cozy up to one of her brothers! There's so many, one is bound to take a liking to you!" Kindra called back.

"What are they talking about?" asked Colin.

"Just ignore them. It's stupid," said Ginny.

But Ginny was learning fast that Ash didn't sugarcoat anything. "Most girls from pure-blood families are taught from a very young age to find the best pure-blood match as soon as they possibly can. And all the girls from the old families within two to three years older and younger than us have been pointed in one direction."

"Oh, no. Don't say it," said Ginny.

"Draco Malfoy," said Ash with an eye roll. "And Kindra has made it her mission to get noticed by him. She's even taken to following around Pansy Parkinson in the hopes of being allowed to sit with them in the Great Hall even though she hates Pansy for being close to him."

"The one who hates Harry?" asked Colin incredulously.

"He has the richest father, and the best political connections," said Ash in an exasperated sigh. "And he's descended from the very exclusive Malfoy line which only ever has one son, and the Blacks who don't have any heirs left with the Black name, except the one in Azkaban. The last two from the main line died last year and the year before. When the one in Azkaban passes, the Black family fortune will pass through the only Black female still alive, not incarcerated, capable of having children, and eligible for the inheritance according to Black family decrees, through her, to her only son, Draco. Of course there are rumors that the one in Azkaban has his own heir, but no one really knows the truth there. Draco's mother also actually has a sister who is older than her and is also capable of having children but she married a Muggle and was disinherited. Her and her daughter get nothing."

"You know all that because you're from an old family?" asked Colin.

Ash's face contorted into a look of disgust, "Parents talk about anything in front of their kids when they are little. Mine made such a big deal about genealogy I made a point to study it to try to make them proud and I found out sometimes cousins married each other just to keep lines pure and money in the family."

She continued, "When I pointed this out to my dad all he said was, 'Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.' After that, I was done. I stopped trying to impress them. I found out later they have a list of potential 'candidates' for them to marry me off too and guess who's at the top of the list?"

"Dad gets excited when the topic comes up because Draco's dad likes to buy the usable artifacts we find, he says if we join families it would be good for business," Ash said bitterly.

"You're not going to be a business transaction," said Ginny. "None of this is going to happen for years, and I'll do everything I can to help you out to make sure that it doesn't happen."

"There's my Gryffindor friend," said Ash, but her smile didn't quite meet her eyes.

"Why is Kindra okay with being a 'transaction'?" asked Colin.

Ash replied, "Most of the old families are very rich, and if the daughters make a good respectable match they get a hefty inheritance for themselves. Nowhere near what the boys get mind you. In many families, if they don't make a good match, as in, they don't marry another wealthy pure-blood, they are completely disowned and disinherited from their family and they get nothing and are no longer welcome or viewed as family."

"Aren't you afraid of losing your family?" asked Colin.

"I want to be free to make my own choices," replied Ash. Once again, Ginny thought it sounded as though Ash was making a point she'd made in many debates prior to this conversation. She couldn't imagine her family ever forcing this situation on her. She realized she could have easily been sitting in exactly Ash's predicament. How many times had she heard the comment about herself being the first Weasley girl born in generations? If her parents' had had a different mindset, they could easily have been trying to take advantage of her coveted position.

Ginny looked over at Kindra, who was currently fawning over Sterling while stealing glances at Pansy Parkinson. "Kindra has one thing right." Ash looked over at her with one eyebrow arched. "There is plenty of room in my family for one more. But you won't have to marry one of my brothers to be in it. You can just be in it." She tried to think how her mum would react to her bringing home a rich pure-blood who didn't want anything to do with her own family and wondered if such a thing had ever happened before.

Ash gave her first genuine smile since they had arrived. Colin pounced on the opportunity to change the subject. He opened his bag and pulled out the pictures he took of the castle. Ash loved his panoramic of Hogwarts and promised that she would review the rules about displaying an art piece depicting Hogwarts and if she could get permission would display it in her future museum.

"Or maybe I'll have an art gallery and a museum and put it in the gallery," she said.

"How are you going to manage a museum and an art gallery and be a curse-breaker?" asked Ginny laughingly.

"Colin will be my art gallery curator and you can be my museum curator," Ash said simply.

"Gwendelyn, is going to manage . . ." she paused for a moment, "she is going to manage marketing. For both," Ash said. She leaned over towards Gwendelyn, "That means you're going to have your work cut out for you, because I want wizards from around the world to come to events at both places!"

"Okay," said Gwendelyn playing along, "I'll do my best."

They worked together and all of them finished what turned out to be a mere paragraph for their potions essay, with the exception of Ash who wrote nearly a page about the different ways mixing the ingredients for the cure for boils could turn out disastrous. They met back up after a quick dinner in the Great Hall and finished their History of Magic essay as well.

All the while they plotted out different ways they would each be successful after graduation if what they wanted didn't pan out. It was nearly nine o'clock at night and time to head back to their common rooms when Cepheus Cooper and Cole Flint, both Slytherin first-years came up and crashed their good time.

Cepheus spoke first, "Burke, Weasley . . . others," he said as a way of greeting.

Ash one-upped him though, "Flint," then she looked Cepheus up and down and turned her gaze away, completely ignoring him.

"I'm a Black on my mother's side," said Cepheus coldly.

"But it's only distantly, _Cepheus_ ," replied Ash.

"Kindra's right," said Cole. "They're both going to grow up unworthy of their names. Let's go before these Mudbloods and blood traitors muck up our stuff."

"We _were_ going to invite you two to a little party," said Cepheus, pulling out a chair and sitting across from Ash, "First weekend meet-and-greet and all, but if you'd rather hang out with . . ." he gestured around to Colin, "then forget we even mentioned it."

Cole sat down next to Gwendelyn, "There's still hope for you though Jones, Harper tells us you're related to the Captain of the Holyhead Harpies. Is it true?" Gwendelyn smiled in spite of herself and nodded. "Talk to Rydia later, she'll give you the details on where were going to meet." They both got up and left.

"You should go to the party," Ash said to Gwendelyn. "I already knew about it because my brother is one of the older students putting it together, but I didn't plan on going anyway. I already know who everybody is and which ones are worth talking to."

"Are you sure?" asked Gwendelyn.

"I'm sure," said Ash. "I want you to make your own choices too and meeting people for yourself is the best way to do that."

Ginny, however, was fuming at the idea of Gwendelyn considering attending. "I wouldn't go, not after the way they treated Colin. That's bull crap!" Madam Pince, the Librarian, looked their way and glared at their table until they got the message to quiet down.

Colin grinned, "You know, you swear like your brother Ron, right?"

Right then Madam Pince announced that the library was closing and for all the students to go back to their common rooms. Ginny, still fuming about Gwendelyn's cavalier attitude and being compared to one of her brothers yet again snatched up her bag and stalked out by herself. She banged open the door to a bathroom that wasn't between the library and Gryffindor Tower so she wouldn't easily be found and pulled out Tom Riddle's diary.

The bathroom was dingy compared to some of the other ones she'd been in but it had a bench and a little table off to one side. She threw her bag on the table and sat down with the diary and a quill. She thought for a moment that she had heard crying coming from one of the stalls, but when she took a moment to investigate, there wasn't anyone there.

"Dear Tom, I'm so sorry we were cut off last night. Someone came into my dorm room looking for me. I'm sorry I promised to write to you on Saturday, but it's mostly over now. I'm already due back up to the common room for the night and when I get there late I'm going to be in big trouble, but I just needed a quiet place to write to you without any interruptions."

" _I'm not mad at you Ginny. But you do seem very upset."_

" _Please tell me what's wrong, sometimes you just need someone to listen."_

Ginny wrote about the injustice of what Ash's parents had in mind for her, how blood purity was still very rampant at school, how some students expected her to follow that regime just because she was a Weasley, how Colin had been snubbed, and especially how one of the Slytherin girls accepted an invitation to a socialite party because she was a pure-blood who didn't have an old family last name and was trying to raise her status even though she had just spent a good day with a Muggle-born.

Tom Riddle let Ginny write and write without interruption. When she finally spilled everything that had bothered her in the past few hours he didn't try to tell her she was wrong, or sooth her with excuses or explanations for the boys' behavior. Instead he proposed an experiment.

" _Are you somewhere where you can sit quietly or even lie back and relax?"_

Ginny looked at the bench she was sitting on. It was small, it only had two seats on it. She swung herself sideways and let her feet rest on the arm of one side and slid down to rest her head on the other arm. "Yes."

" _Now try to relax, feel your breathing calm and slow."_

" _Pick a single spot to look at and let your mind drift."_

"How will I know to when to write back to you?" she asked.

" _Don't worry about that, just focus on calming your mind."_

Ginny set the diary down across her stomach. She focused on a single tile on the wall above her. She noticed that it was a box, a small one in between a few bigger ones in the overall pattern. She felt her mind go hazy, like the day she took Harry's Nimbus for a ride that no one knew about. At first she tried to fight it but there was a calming rhythm that pulsed through her mind this time, similar to a cat's purr. She felt the haze press in on all sides. It pushed her consciousness into a box, not unlike the one she had been focusing on.

For a while Ginny let herself float in the haze. She lazed in the stillness and indifference. Here there was nobody who compared her to her brothers. Here she wasn't both ignored and speculated about at the same time. Here there was nobody who expected an opinion on every topic of current wizard affairs when they did manage to speak to her. She felt herself falling asleep at times and when she did finally start to try to bring her consciousness back to herself, found she was stuck.

Ginny began to push against the box that she now felt trapped inside of. She beat on it with her hands and kicked it over and over. She started to panic, and through the panic came anger. She fueled the anger into forcing the box open. While her frustrations grew the calming purr like vibrations turned into an almost unbearable high pitched single note that never ended.

Exhausted after an undeterminable amount of time, Ginny calmed down and tried to think her way out of the problem. She took a few deep breaths and with her calmness the soft purring came back as well. Ginny banged once hard on the inside of the box and she felt the purr shift back to the high pitch but it only lasted a few seconds and then it quieted back down to the soft purr again.

Instead of focusing on forcing the box open, Ginny started to imagine the box not existing at all. It felt like it was working, the box soon melted away and she was left in the misty haze. She thought for a moment that she could sort of see what was going on around her, and she thought maybe she was actually standing up again. She kept mentally imagining the haze going away and eventually it started to clear as well. The haze didn't outright recede though, it started to form crisscrossing lines. Like a net Ginny thought. It also started to shrink.

The net became smaller and smaller, until finally it was as small and as delicate as a spider's web. Ginny felt it wrap itself around her mind and before it seemingly disappeared she heard a whisper.

" _You're going to be calm. You're going to be happy. And you're going to forget."_

Ginny repeated the whisper out loud to herself, "You're going to be calm. You're going to be happy. And you're going to forget."

She felt her eyes snap open at that point and she found herself not laying down on the bench, but standing up at one of the sinks and looking directly at herself into the mirror above it. Ginny turned back around to look at the bench and saw her back pack and the diary both sitting over where she must have left them. But she couldn't remember getting up and walking over to the sink at all. She couldn't remember anything except that she had been leaning back on the bench and staring at a tile on the wall.

"What the heck?" she said quietly to herself.

"That's what I was going to say."

Ginny jumped in alarm. When she searched for the source of the voice she saw one of the Hogwarts Ghosts floating near one of the stalls.

"Who are you?" Ginny asked.

"Myrtle. It's way past curfew you know," the ghost somehow looked both upset and stern at the same time. She floated closer to Ginny, "What was that scraping noise?"

"What scraping noise?"

"I heard a hissing sound, and then a scraping noise like stone on stone. When I came out to see who was bothering me I saw you staring into the mirror, talking to yourself," said Myrtle.

"I don't remember any of that," said Ginny truthfully.

"WELL, IT HAPPENED!" screamed Myrtle who turned and flew back into one of the stalls. Ginny heard a splash and when she went to push the door open to check on her, the ghost was nowhere to be found. She did hear crying again though, and this time she thought it came from one of the pipes below the toilet.

Mystified, Ginny walked over to her bag and after a moment's hesitation she decided she was too tired to finish her conversation with Tom, she stuffed the diary into the bag and headed back up to Gryffindor Tower.

There was a clock on every landing of the Grand Staircase and when Ginny realized it was well past midnight she started sprinting up to the seventh floor. The Fat Lady at the common room entrance tried to tell her off for being out past curfew but Ginny immediately said "Wattlebird" and shut out the Fat Lady's words when she closed the painting behind her.

Thankfully the common room was empty and when she arrived at her dorm, all the other girls were already asleep. Even Thaliana, who Ginny half expected to wait up until all the girls were properly in bed, was peacefully breathing.


	8. Chapter Eight: Quidditch

**Author's Note:** Scrimmage, the way I grew up using it CAN mean to brawl but we typically use the word skirmish in place of it. In this chapter, I use Scrimmage the way I grew up normally using it: to mean playing a game in a friendly manner, where it does not count for points or towards any sort of league or association. Where a game is played for an organization, solely for the purposes of either love of the game or for a pre-season practice game between two different teams or say between two associated teams sponsored by one sponsor like junior varsity versus varsity.

The breakdown is thus:  
 **Quidditch Club** is open to all students regardless of ability and is played in the weekday evenings after classes the way other clubs meet. These are more like practices, and no matches are actually played.  
 **Quidditch Scrimmage** requires an informal tryout through Madam Hooch to test your flying and ball handling capabilities before being invited to Sunday Quidditch Scrimmage where players who are most unlikely to get hurt or fall out of the air while flying are allowed to play in actual matches refereed by Madam Hooch. Scrimmage is useful because it gives flyers an ability to practice in a real match environment and become better players throughout the year enabling them to try out for their Inter-House Cup teams. House Captains like Oliver Wood can choose to attend Scrimmages on Sundays and invite players as team or reserve members for House teams.

Originally, I did not intend to use the word Scrimmage the way Americans use it and was going to call all of it Quidditch Club, however during the writing process I kept having to explain the differences and decided, to Hell with it. I'm naming Sundays Quidditch Scrimmage. Plus, I like the way they sound together.

* * *

Chapter Eight: Quidditch

 _Dear Ginny,_

 _Your father and I are_ so _proud of you. We knew you would be happy where ever you would have been Sorted, but I must be honest when I say that I'm especially grateful you are with your brothers who will look out for you and just be there when you might need them. (Or you there for them should they need you!)_

 _I received the pictures Colin sent and they are beautiful! I made copies of the one where you got your first wand and sent them to everyone in the family!_

 _I have already started on knitting this year's Christmas sweaters and am about half way finished. It is going so much faster now that I have enchanted needles!_

 _Speaking of Christmas, your father has recently helped out a fellow Ministry worker who repaid the favor by buying us tickets on a Muggle flying car, I think your father called it an air-car? I'm not sure, but we're going to Egypt to visit Bill!_

 _I have terrible news as well though, we only have enough tickets to take three of you. I have already written to Percy so he can talk it over with your brothers. If worst comes to worst and you guys can't decide who gets to go, your father and I will simply give back the tickets._

 _In the meantime, will you be a dear and ask Luna if she will be visiting her father for Christmas break and if she is, would she be willing to watch our chickens again? If not, I think your father and I can sort out the magical things around the house so a villager or the neighbors with the work animals you like to visit can check on the them._

 _I trust all my children to make good choices,_

 _Love, Mum_

Ginny received that letter from her mum two weeks after she had sent hers home with the Little owl and she had been trying to think of a reply that would not make her mum fret over her well-being. Except, Ginny hadn't felt one-hundred percent in weeks. Not since the first weekend when she lost time in Myrtle's bathroom. She found herself waking up from what she assumed was dozing at the oddest times. Once it was at the end of a History of Magic lecture. Her only consolation was that she hadn't moved from where she last remembered she was, not since that first time.

 _Dear Mum,_

 _Flying lessons started the second week of term and Madame Hooch said I was a natural! She's invited me to participate in her Sunday Quidditch Scrimmage and both Colin and I joined Beginner's Quidditch Club to practice formation flying and ball/bat handling on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings. Colin hasn't been invited to Sunday afternoons yet but we're hoping it's only a matter of time. He's been improving very rapidly!_

 _Colin also showed me how to develop pictures from film, to be honest I didn't know there was a difference between developing film and developing photographs. But it's not as hard as I thought it was going to be and neither is making the potion to make them animated! I'm going to send you some of inside the castle and the grounds that he let me put on the paper and through the potion all by myself._

 _A couple of weeks after school started was Hermione's birthday. Since she had been helping Colin and I and everyone else in first year with our assignments I asked her to show me some things she has learned outside of class. She demonstrated how to make magical, portable fires of different colors, and how to make ink flash different colors after it's already on the parchment. She also showed me quite a few counter-jinxes, just in case she said. So far I haven't had to use any._

 _Last week nearly everyone seemed to suffer from a sudden onset of colds all around the castle and Percy said I was looking pale. Madam Pomfrey made everyone who showed symptoms of the cold take a really strong Pepperup Potion. Percy bugged me and bugged me to take some of it and thankfully it was after classes were over because the steam that came from ears was so thick everyone in Gryffindor tower said it made me look like my head was on fire! Madam Pomfrey said if steam like that happened, it may be because I wasn't actually sick but since she had agreed that I looked pale she still would have given it to me anyway. On the bright side, I don't look pale anymore!_

 _Percy hasn't gathered the rest of our brothers yet to talk about who gets to go to Egypt with you guys so I don't have any information there. He's always "busy" and he's almost never in the common room anymore. He says it'll be soon though. I really want to go. Colin is looking forward to spending Christmas break with his dad and brother, and I don't want to be left behind here without him. I met another girl on the train ride here who I've become very good friends with. Her name is Ash Burke and she was sorted into Slytherin, but she is also going home for Christmas._

 _Well, other than saying that classes are going fine, Lockhart's are actually pretty easy, and that yes Luna would be delighted to watch Checkers, Mrs. Claws, Igor, Professor Feather and all the other chickens she named last year that I can't remember, I think I've caught you up on everything going on here. Oh yeah, Luna says by the description, it was Checkers who tripped Dad when he was loading our trunks into the car._

 _Give my best to Dad,_

 _Love, Ginny_

A little more than a week before Halloween, after a double Potions lesson with the Slytherins, Ginny and Colin found Ash in the library sitting by herself at a table. Gwendelyn had been fully accepted by Kindra's group on the basis that she could get them and their families tickets to tournament games. She hadn't hung out with Ash much since the party Cole and Cepheus invited her to that first weekend gathering. They threw their bags on the table and Ginny was surprised when Logan Lawless joined them.

"Ginny," he said, "Harper says you're a pretty good flier?"

"She's the best in the group," replied Colin proudly.

"Cool," said Logan, "um, so Harper, Cole, and Cepheus already made themselves a three-man team in Quidditch Club and I heard you needed a third . . ." he trailed off.

"Have you flown much?" Ginny asked.

"Not really, but I'd like to learn how to play Quidditch."

Ginny looked pointedly at Colin, "What do you think? Let him fly with us on Monday and see how he fits?" she asked him.

Colin shrugged, "I'm cool with that."

"Thank you!" exclaimed Logan, he gave all three of them a grateful smile and at that moment Ash's pen flipped out of her hand. Logan managed to snatch it out of the air and he said one last thank you to Ginny while he handed it back to Ash before heading back to his table.

"Isn't it counter-intuitive to practice with people from other houses?" asked Colin.

"Madam Hooch encourages inter-house team mates," said Ginny. "Just like any other club." So far, Ginny surpassed everyone who still attended Beginner's Quidditch Club, where members practiced basic flying formations and ball handling skills. Most of the students there were first and second years, a few were third-years who had only recently developed an interest in playing Quidditch.

Ginny was already given permission from Madam Hooch to join the Intermediate's Quidditch Club during the week, which met later in the evenings and would give her permission to stay out later than other first-years on weeknights. She preferred to stay in the Beginner's sessions with Colin though. It also annoyed Harper that she maneuvered on a broom much better than he did, even though he was a better passer and catcher with the Quaffle. Ginny was also exceptional at catching the Snitch compared to other first-years. She supposed this was due to playing with the squirrels in the tree grove.

"Sunday is going to be our first day of Scrimmage, and I'll find out who I'm on a team with just before we start," said Ginny.

"Madam Hooch is making the teams this time," said Colin knowledgably. "After that, the teams can choose to stay together or mix and match each other around."

"Are you going to watch?" Ash asked Colin.

"Yeah! You want to come and sit with me?" he replied eagerly.

"Sure, we'll cheer Weasley on together," she grinned.

: : : : :

Ginny spent Saturday much as she always did. She went with Colin to watch the Gryffindor's Quidditch practice and then they worked on their homework in the common room with the other first-years nearby. Eventually Colin would disappear to the empty storage room Professor McGonagall had gotten permission for him to keep blacked out as a dark room. While he spent a couple of hours in there, Ginny would often wander down to Myrtle's bathroom and write to Tom in the diary to catch him up on what happened during the week and to ask homework questions her and Colin hadn't worked out earlier in the day.

Normally after a conversation with Tom in the diary, Ginny felt much more confident about her studies and how things were going in the way she was figuring out her place at Hogwarts. This weekend she decided to skip writing to Tom, however. She felt bad, but Tom in the diary never seemed to realize how many days had actually passed, and she wanted to be completely fresh for her first ever Scrimmage match tomorrow. So just in case, she didn't bother to pull the diary out of her bag on Saturday night.

: : : : :

Late Sunday morning found Ginny on the Quidditch Pitch with the rest of Sunday Scrimmage members. About half of all the first-years were in Beginner's Quidditch Club in the evenings after classes, but Madam Hooch chose only those most qualified for Sundays.

Colin was sitting in the stands near where Ginny was huddled with the other first-years who were eagerly waiting for their team assignments. Ginny watched Ash arrive and give a quick sweep of the benches until Colin waved her over.

Over the din of the excited Sunday club members, Ginny distinctly heard Colin say, "I saved you a spot!" to Ash when she reached him.

Ash pointedly glanced from one empty side of the stadium to the other and laughed when she sarcastically said, "Thanks." Colin just grinned.

Next to appear were a couple of the boys from Colin's dorm, Jai Misra and Emerson Faulkner, no doubt there to support their friend Jasper Greene, the only other Gryffindor first-year to make it to Sunday Scrimmage.

Ginny glanced around her fellow first-years on the pitch with her, all waiting for Madam Hooch to arrive. Besides Jasper and herself, there was Joshua Smith and Keishawn Johnson both from Hufflepuff. Ginny and Colin still partnered those two during group projects during Herbology. Everyone was surprised when Madam Hooch announced Keishawn's invitation to Sunday. Everyone except Ginny, who'd been watching him fly during Quidditch Club.

She wasn't surprised to see Atticus Harper or Cole Flint from Slytherin either, what with Harper being a good flyer just like he always bragged and Cole being the younger brother of Slytherin Quidditch Captain Marcus Flint.

The last first-year to make it Sunday Scrimmage this term was a Ravenclaw girl Ginny recognized from Transfiguration. Maia Moran was a willowy girl who was known for her love to dance and it was another no surprise that she was equally as fluid on a broom in the air.

The other nine members who were playing in this morning's match were all second-years who participated last year, many of whom had brought their own brooms. Of the second-years, there were six boys and three girls. Ginny knew two of the boys from Gryffindor who shared a dorm with Ron and Harry, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. She also knew Blaise Zabini by name because Ash pointed him out to her once when Colin noticed he hung out with Draco Malfoy on occasion. The other six were all Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.

Ginny looked across the field and spied Madam Hooch in her office, it looked like she was talking to people in there. Right then Cepheus Cooper and Logan Lawless walked out towards the stadium, most likely to support Atticus Harper and Cole Flint. Logan looked as though he were going to go up and sit with Ash and Colin, but Cepheus pulled him in a different direction. That was fine, Ginny decided she'd still let Logan fly with her and Colin on Monday.

A few minutes after ten o'clock, Madam Hooch and the other people in her office trooped out to the field. Ginny almost fainted when she realized who they all were. One of them was Oliver Wood, which meant the other three must be the other House's Quidditch Captains. One of them gave a nod to Cole Flint, so Ginny marked him as Marcus, the Slytherin Captain.

"Good morning," began Madam Hooch, "this year the House Captains have agreed to watch the Scrimmage games every time we meet for future recruitment purposes. This means we will not meet on Sundays the day after a regular Inter-House Saturday Quidditch match so we don't take up their whole weekend. Today only, I will be picking your teams and the team captains. I will assign each of you an initial start position and from there your captain can switch you around as they see fit. They can only make switches during time-outs and they must announce switches for everyone participating. First-years must ride school brooms and everyone must wear something to denote your main House color for the House Captains and everyone must wear the jersey for your corresponding team today."

Ginny looked down at her green hooded Muggle jumper that was a hand-me-down from Charlie. She had chosen to wear it for luck. For a split second she was petrified, it was too chilly to go without it, but she didn't want Oliver Wood to dismiss her as Slytherin while she was in the air. Then she heard banging coming from the stands. Colin was quickly making his way down.

"Ash practically shoved me down the stairs and said to switch with you," he said, very out of breath. He yanked off his plain faded red jumper and held it out for her.

Ginny gratefully took it and handed Charlie's over to Colin. "That was supposed to be my good-luck charm today," she told him as she put on Colin's jumper.

"I'll cheer extra loud to make up for it then," and he turned and ran back up the steps to sit with Ash.

During that exchange the House Captains divided the first and second years into their respective Houses and were gathering names and years from them. Ginny got in line with Jasper. When it was her turn to talk to Oliver he started by asking her name.

"Ginny Weasley, first-year," she answered solemnly.

"Weasley? Any relation to Charlie or the twins?" his expression had perked up.

"They're all my older brothers."

"How long have you been flying, Ginny?"

"Since I was six, so about five years."

"On your own broom?"

"Uh, no . . . on whichever of my brothers' brooms I could get a hold of . . . they don't know that," she said in a near whisper.

Oliver gave her a small smile, "A bit of the twins in you huh?"

"I guess." Ginny barely suppressed her automatic eye roll at being compared to her brothers yet again.

Oliver didn't seem to notice her sudden coolness and asked one more question. "What position do you play?"

"Seeker usually in Quidditch Club, but I like Chasing and I'm okay at being a Keeper."

"Not a Beater?" he asked.

"Not . . . yet," she replied. The truth was flying in a game, even a friendly one, with Bludgers was kind of terrifying. Even if these ones did fly slower than ones during Inter-House regular games. They used them sparingly during Quidditch Club throughout the week and Ginny hadn't forgotten her difficulty of keeping track of Ron and Harry when they played Quidditch with her on her birthday. Something she'd been diligently working on since beginning Flying lessons and subsequently during club meetings.

Oliver made a couple of notes and then said, "Okay," and went to sit in the stands near the other House Captains. Madam Hooch took over and started calling out names and the teams she assigned them to.

"Orange team. Finnigan, Seamus. Beater and Captain." Seamus and Dean Thomas shared a grin. Seamus went to the pile of orange jersey pullovers and picked out a number.

"Purple team. Finch-Fletchy, Justin. Keeper and Captain." A second-year boy in Hufflepuff yellow shared a grin with another in yellow. Blaise Zabini rolled his eyes. Probably sore he wasn't chosen as a captain, Ginny thought.

"Orange. Corner, Michael. Chaser." A boy in Ravenclaw blue went to stand next to Seamus.

"Purple. Thomas, Dean. Beater." Dean stuck his tongue out at Seamus and joined the purple captain, Justin Finch-Fletchy.

Ginny watched Seamus mouth, "It's on," back at Dean. She already knew they were best friends.

"Orange. Bones, Susan. Chaser." Another Hufflepuff.

"Purple. Brocklehurst, Mandy. Chaser." A Ravenclaw.

"Orange. Macmillan, Ernie. Chaser." Another Hufflepuff, the one Justin had shared a grin with.

"Purple. Jones, Megan. Chaser." Yet another Hufflepuff.

Finally, Madam Hooch called a first-year. "Orange. Smith, Joshua. Beater."

Ginny's heart sank on the next one. "Purple. Flint, Cole. Chaser." That was the last assigned Chaser position.

"Orange. Greene, Jasper. Keeper." That surprised Ginny. A first-year in such a pivotal role?

"Purple. Moran, Maia. Beater." Ginny raised her eyebrows at this. Other than the Holyhead Harpies, she didn't see many female Beaters. Maia seemed prepared for it though. She pulled out a pair of fingerless gloves in Ravenclaw blue, picked up a Beater bat and twirled it in her hand the way swordsmen did. Dean immediately pulled her aside and they had a quick discussion on Purple team Beater tactics.

There were only two spots left and four people who hadn't been assigned.

"Orange. Zabini, Blaise. Seeker." Blaise sauntered over to Seamus's team with a supremely smug look on his face.

"Purple. Weasley, Ginny. Seeker."

Off in the distance Ginny heard a, "Yeeaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" from where Colin and Ash were sitting in the stands. She walked over to the Purple team with what hopefully wasn't a smug look like Blaise's, but just a regular smile.

"Orange. Harper, Atticus. Reserve." Ginny peaked back at Harper and saw he was fuming. She tried to hold her laugh to herself. Her and Harper may have been the best fliers out of the first-years, but they were playing with the second-years too.

"Purple. Johnson, Keishawn. Reserve." As Madam Hooch moved papers around on her clipboard, Keishawn bounded over to the purple jerseys and put on number eleven. "I Looooovvvvveee purple!" he said loudly to no one in particular.

Even though Keishawn, was the reserve and Muggle-born, and had never seen an actual game of Quidditch, he still managed to get himself in the thick of conversation. "So wha's the plan man?" he asked Justin Finch-Fletchy.

"That depends," Justin replied, "What positions do you usually play?"

"I'm Muggle-born, I've never seen or played Quidditch, but I've learned all the positions and Madam Hooch says if I worked at it I could be good at all of dem."

Ginny watched Justin smile reassuringly, "I'm Muggle-born too, and this year I made first pick captain." Maybe that's why Blaise rolled his eyes, Ginny wondered. Because a Muggle-born was allowed to be a first pick captain? "So the plan is to start the way Madam Hooch has us all laid out, and then I'll switch all of you first-years around during time-outs."

Ginny was torn, she wanted to catch the Snitch as soon as possible, but she also wanted to show she could score goals. Unfortunately, she couldn't do both at the same time.

Madam Hooch called everyone to the field and they mounted their brooms. She opened the crates to release the Bludgers and Snitch and held the Quaffle in the air. As she tossed it for the Chasers, Ginny flew up over the game to search for the Snitch. Cole Flint looked like he was going to get the Quaffle first but Susan Bones on Orange had her own broom, not a school one, and she snatched it away from him. Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw Blaise searching for the Snitch lower to the ground than she was doing.

A Bludger came pelting her way hit by Seamus, captain of Orange, who looked pained at having sent it directly at a new Gryffindor. Ginny started to swerve away, but the old school broom she was riding wasn't near as responsive as any of her brothers' brooms, even Ron's old Shooting Star. Just as she thought her worst Quidditch fear of being knocked off her broom by a Bludger was going to be realized, Maia Moran popped up and swung her bat within inches of Ginny's left arm.

The connection was true and the black ball sailed away, right towards Michael Corner from Ravenclaw, one of the Orange team Chasers, who currently held the Quaffle.

"Don't worry! I got you girl!" Maia shouted to Ginny. She flew up close for another second. "My job is to watch everything but mainly protect our Seeker!" She grinned, obviously loving playing the game, and then zoomed low again when the other Bludger came close to pelting Megan Jones on their team, who had caught the Quaffle after Michael dropped it.

After also being protected by Maia, Megan took the Quaffle all the way to the scoring end of the field. She flew as fast as she could right up to Jasper who was Keeping for Orange and threw the ball hard. Jasper lunged but he missed it by just a few inches. Purple scored the first goal.

Ginny heard Colin cheering in the stands off in the distance again. She did a quick look around for Blaise and saw him floating a bit above her, meticulously searching for the Snitch. One look at his broom told her that if it ended in a race, his Cleansweep Eight would win by a mile compared to her old school broom.

She was going to have to play smart, find it first and sneak over to the Snitch without him realizing she'd seen it.

Then she saw it.

Floating at the foot of one of Orange team's goal posts. She started to drift in that direction, but it was too late. Blaise spotted it as well. Ginny knew she couldn't beat him to the Snitch, but she could intercept him on his way.

Justin's face looked crushed. Everyone waited with bated breath as they watched Blaise dive and Ginny fly into his path of travel. In her attempt to head Blaise off, he nearly knocked Ginny off her broom. Blaise spiraled away just in the nick of time, and the look he wore was thunderous.

Ginny didn't intend to make the situation worse but her competitiveness won out and she grinned at Blaise mischievously before one of Orange team's Beaters could send another Bludger her way in retaliation. The ruse worked, looking around the Snitch had vanished again.

Michael Corner on Orange seemed to be determined to erase his team's missteps and once he got his hands on the Quaffle he tore off across the field, catapulted it towards one of the goals Justin was guarding, and brought the score back to even, ten-ten.

Seamus Finnigan, Captain of Orange, immediately called a time-out before the Quaffle went back into play. Ginny landed with her teammates and everyone huddled around Justin Finch-Fletchy.

"Keishawn, tag in as Seeker. Ginny get in the mindset of Chaser, you're replacing Cole Flint." Cole looked outraged. "Cole, take Maia's Beater bat and Maia you play Keeper."

"Who's benched?" Dean asked.

"I am. I want to watch how everyone flies from a standstill. Maia, next time a goal is scored on their side call another timeout okay?" Maia nodded and Justin went to find a good vantage point.

Madam Hooch blew the whistle, signaling timeout was over. Everyone walked back out to the Quidditch pitch and the Justin and Seamus announced their new line-ups. The only change on the Orange team was that Atticus Harper went in to replace Joshua Smith as a Beater.

In the air once more, Ginny had to re-orient herself to focusing on the Quaffle — a much more in the moment position. Madam Hooch tossed the Quaffle into the air and all six Chasers swooped in.

Michael Corner nearly nabbed it first, but Megan Jones on Purple snatched it out of his reach. She immediately passed it down the pitch to Mandy Brocklehurst and Ginny tore after the two of them to keep up. Mandy went in for the goal against Orange team's Keeper Jasper who stretched to catch the Quaffle. His fingers brushed the ball enough to divert it away and keep it from scoring, but he wasn't quite close enough to catch it and pass it back to an Orange Chaser.

Before Jasper could re-position himself, Ginny swooped down to catch the red ball and soared up to the hoop on the farthest side from where Jasper was hovering. Even though their brooms were evenly matched, Jasper wasn't ready for Ginny's quick save and she made Purple team's second goal. They were up, twenty to ten and everyone heard Colin hollering from the stands.

Ernie took possession of the Quaffle after that for Orange and play began to move down to the goals Maia was now guarding for Purple. Ginny was well on her way to intercepting a pass between Ernie and Susan, but she spotted another Bludger just in time heading her way. She moved to evade and then saw fellow Gryffindor, but Orange team captain, Seamus give her another apologetic look for hitting it towards her again.

Ginny smiled back with a small nod of understanding and paused to find where the Quaffle was now, when she noticed Atticus Harper had been watching the exchange between herself and Seamus. Even though she was in no way near a ball in play, she saw Harper fly to intercept the Bludger that had just missed her and strike out at it with his bat to send it back in her direction again. A clear display that he thought members from the same House but on opposite teams shouldn't communicate with each other. Ginny tensed and tried to gauge the fastest direction to fly to get out of the way. But she didn't need to. Harper completely missed with his swing and the Bludger hit him instead, right in the crook of his arm.

Madam Hooch called for an emergency timeout. After checking that Harper wasn't in peril, she sent him to the hospital wing with Cepheus Cooper and Logan Lawless to see Madam Pomfrey. During the fray, Justin Finch-Fletchy took advantage of the game pause and switched his team members around again, but only because Mandy Brocklehurst needed a breather. Mandy loved to play Quidditch, but she was a half-blood born with a Muggle disease which made it difficult for her to breathe after a long period of time of strenuous activity.

"Maia, can you take over for Mandy and I'll go back to being Keeper?" Justin asked.

"Sure, I like scoring goals anyway," she smiled.

Madam Hooch signaled for the captains to announce their line-ups again and Ginny got in line with the other Purple team Chasers, now Maia, Megan, and herself. Dean Thomas and Cole Flint took their positions with their Beater bats, and Keishawn Johnson stood next to Justin as the Purple Seeker and Keeper. The Orange team kept nearly all their members the same, with the exception of Joshua Smith coming back in as a Beater for Atticus of course.

Madam Hooch had done a very good job of dividing up the players to keep the teams balanced. Justin and Jasper were fairly evenly matched as Keepers and the Chasers on both teams all played more or less fairly with each other. Ginny felt like she learned more about being a Chaser playing with Megan Jones and Maia Moran than she had learned from any of her brothers, albeit none of them ever played the Chaser position.

Twenty more minutes went by, Purple and Orange were still tied. Now forty to forty.

"Ginny!" Maia shouted. "Take lead, we're going to flank you!"

The three girls formed an arrow and Ginny took the front position to scatter the opponents, urging her school broom to go as fast as it could go. Megan and Maia took turns passing the Quaffle back and forth to each other behind her.

Megan zoomed up close to get Jasper's attention but instead reverse passed back to Ginny. The reverse pass was a complete surprise and Ginny nearly fumbled the catch but she hung on and managed to rocket the Quaffle through the goal that Jasper was now farthest from again and pulled Purple into the lead.

Once more she heard Colin in the distance cheering. She turned around to wait for the Quaffle to go back into play. She spotted Keishawn and Blaise, both of whom were frantically searching for the Snitch. A glance down at the field showed more people with their own brooms had showed up who were now watching the match. It looked like they were ready for their own Sunday Scrimmage, except these were all third and fourth-years.

Before Madam Hooch re-released the Quaffle after Ginny's score, she checked her watch and announced that if the Snitch wasn't caught within an hour of the match's start, she would announce whoever had scored more goals would be the winner so she could move onto the next group.

Madam Hooch threw the Quaffle but everyone paused. Keishawn was racing across the field. Blaise took off but he was twice as far away from the Snitch than Keishawn was.

However, Blaise's superior broom was doing its job. With less than twenty yards to go he leveled with Keishawn and it was a grapple between the two Seekers.

Keishawn had never seen a real game of Quidditch before, so Ginny took it upon herself to let him know how aggressive he was allowed to be, "Knock his arm out of the way, Keishawn!"

She heard Colin's voice from far away, "Go Keishawn! Go!"

Keishawn initially had his arm simply stretched out, reaching for the Snitch. After hearing Ginny's shout though, both boys began to shove each other away from it. They were getting close to the ground, Keishawn took a chance and leaped off his broom. School brooms didn't travel too fast, but he still rolled for quite a way. Blaise had recklessly followed him and they tumbled over and over until finally they stopped.

They stood up, Blaise clutching his side, Keishawn trying to catch his breath but in his hand was the Golden Snitch. He started to hold it up, but when Madam Hooch blew her whistle and announced the Purple team the victors he immediately sat back down on the ground and leaned back until he was sprawled all the way out but still holding the Snitch in the air for all to see.

Everyone landed and the rest of the Purple team rushed him to celebrate together.

After a few moments Madam Hooch gathered them together again. "Excellent! Next weekend we meet again and we'll do a school yard pick, the weekend after is the first match of the year for the Quidditch Cup, therefore Sunday Quidditch Scrimmage will not meet. After that I expect all of you to have taken advantage of the time and to have two teams ready to play from then on. I now release you to the House Captains for feedback."

Dean, Seamus, Jasper, and Ginny all went to Oliver when he and the other House Captains approached. "Seamus," started Oliver, "as Captain, you need to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each of your teammates and move their positions as necessary. You should have been more like the Purple Captain, the one from Hufflepuff, who moved Purple team around every chance he got. I suggest you play as each of the positions more often to better understand what skills are required to be good at those positions."

"Dean, Beaters can choose to each mark one Bludger and trust each other to follow the one they are assigned and protect any teammate it targets, but that rarely works for the entire duration of a match. Beaters need to be flexible and of one mind, they need to be interchangeable with each other. I realize that you have never played with Cole Flint or Maia Moran, so with that in mind you did sort of okay today."

Oliver wasn't sugar coating any of his words, "Jasper, as a Keeper myself, I'm very aware of the trials of being one person against three Chasers trying to defend three goals at once. The mistake it appears you made over and over was concentrating on the three goals you were defending. A Keeper will never succeed with that kind of thinking. A Keeper, like each player, must be able to zero in and focus on one thing at a time. That one thing will change in a heartbeat easily, change from second to second but should only ever be one thing at a time. As a Keeper, that one thing you should always be focused on is the Quaffle. Focus on that, and Keeping the goals safe will easily follow." Jasper looked stunned, he loved sports, and from the look on his speechless face Ginny guessed no one had ever given him that sort of direct criticism before.

Ginny was breathing very deeply now. Oliver turned his attention on her, "Ginny," he looked at his notes, "the way you headed off Blaise the first time he saw the Snitch was very good tactical thinking. His broom was superior and you would not have had the remotest chance in a race. As a Chaser the first goal you scored is exactly the type of thinking a Chaser needs to be successful. Taking a failed shot and turning it to your advantage before the Keeper has time to realize the Quaffle is already back in play is paramount to ensuring a win, just in case the other side catches the Snitch. I know you were also riding a school broom and I took that into consideration while I saw you attempt to keep up with Megan and Maia. I also realize that this was the first time you three have flown together, and working as a team takes time. But it still showed that you need to be more aware of your fellow Chasers' positions so you can work seamlessly as a team. You almost missed the reverse pass Megan sent you and you froze when you thought that first Bludger was coming your way. Trust your teammates to do their job."

"If the four of you practice what I have commented on, you will do well in your futures as proper Quidditch players." He walked away, presumably getting ready for the third and fourth-years.

Ginny let out a great breath of relief. Oliver's comments on her flying weren't nearly as terrible as she had expected after hearing what he said to her fellow Gryffindors, and the criticism was something she was already aware of about herself and already working on improving.

Colin came flying down the stands, Ash following at a statelier pace.

"You won!" he said at a near shout.

"My team won," said Ginny grinning.

"My family listens to Quidditch matches on the radio, but I've never actually watched one in person," started Ash, "Even when my father managed to get tickets, he only ever took Dax with him."

"Want to watch another match?" Ginny asked. "The third and fourth-years are starting!"

They stayed to watch the third and fourth years play, and then they decided to take a late lunch and watch the fifth, sixth, and seventh-years all play against each other as well. Apparently, the older the students, the fewer that participated in Quidditch Club and even fewer participated in Sunday Scrimmages. Ginny, Colin, and Ash listened to the friends of the older students discuss the matches and they learned that the older students were either chosen to play on the House teams or they lost interest and decided to focus on their academics to prepare for their OWL's and NEWTs.

The following Monday morning, Ginny and Colin relived the match with Keishawn and Joshua during Herbology after Professor Sprout gave them notes to take on the healing properties of Dittany. They had progressed from basic plant parts and daily care procedures to repotting small seedlings into larger pots.

In charms they learned how to change the color of various fluids (which Ginny found incredibly easy after Hermione taught her to make ink on paper flash different colors) and Professor Flitwick told them that if they progressed through solids he would move on to teaching them to make objects fly by Halloween.

Defense Against the Dark Arts in the afternoons however, had became somewhat of a drama hour as Professor Lockhart apparently had a mishap with the second-years and some pixies. So now they spent the hours re-enacting scenes from his books.

When the bell rang and it cut Lockhart off abruptly, Ginny and Colin rushed out of the room, bolted down a quick dinner, and rushed out to the courtyard for Quidditch Club. Colin was picking up his balance in the air more and more as the weeks passed and Ginny was excited to start teaching him Chaser formations. The two of them met Logan Lawless, who was already out there with his other Slytherin dorm mates.

Madam Hooch still oversaw these practices even though Flying Lessons were over, but she became more and more hands off as the students started to form their own teams and practice their own moves.

Logan desperately wanted to make Sunday Quidditch Scrimmage next term and Ginny needed a third flyer to practice Chaser formations. About half of all the first-years were still part of Quidditch Club since mandatory Flying Lessons ended. Ginny had her pick to play with during the week.

She just finished showing Logan and Colin a looping formation where the Chasers would fly down the middle of the field in three parallel lines, but would take turns weaving from the outside to the center and throwing the Quaffle from the center to alternating outsides at the same time. The boys were just getting the hang of where they were supposed to fly after each ball pass when Madam Hooch announced practice was over.

"Come back and try again tomorrow?" Ginny asked Logan. He jumped down from his broom trying to catch his breath and only managed a weak smile and a nod. Then he ambled off to join the rest of the Slytherins heading to their common room.

Colin jumped off his broom and didn't even try to stand up. He sprawled all the way on the ground breathing in great gulping gasps. "How . . . are you . . . not . . . out . . . of breath?" he squeaked.

"I flew way more than this almost every day at home," said Ginny simply. "You and Logan didn't get those opportunities." Colin looked at her questioningly, his breathing almost back to normal.

"Logan was raised in the city. Too many Muggles around for him to fly," explained Ginny.

"Dear Tom, yesterday was our very first Quidditch Scrimmage and my team won!" Tom in the diary didn't seem one bit upset about being ignored all weekend and when Ginny brought up an apology for not writing on Saturday he brushed it off when she started to mention it.

" _I can tell you're very excited."_

" _Your emotional energy is running very high."_

" _Tell me everything."_

Just like that, Ginny could feel all was forgiven. She gave Tom an exact blow by blow from both Quidditch Scrimmage the day before and Quidditch Club earlier that day. It intrigued her that Tom loved hearing her write about Quidditch. It seemed like he was eating all of her excitement about her successes right up.

After Tom was caught up on the past week and weekend, and Ginny hid the diary under her pillow, she immediately felt exhausted. She was pleased at least that this time she had been very conscious of how much time she spent writing in the diary and it didn't appear at all that any time escaped her.

The rest of the week passed by in a similar fast-paced style. Ginny heard Nearly Headless Nick boasting that Ron, Harry, and Hermione weren't going to attend the Halloween feast this year and instead had been the only living beings invited to his Five-Hundredth Deathday party. However, despite the Pepperup potion, Ginny still found herself feeling overly tired and mentally exhausted every day.

She didn't want to confide this to Percy, or any of her other brothers for that matter though, for fear that they would then find out she was involved in Quidditch Club and Sunday Quidditch Scrimmage and write to Mum who would make her quit until she felt better. Ginny knew it was a strange notion, but she realized every evening when after Quidditch Club practices she would throw her giant school bag full of books and folders and rolls of parchment and the diary into her dorm room and only then was it like a giant weight lifted from her. She attributed this of course to having to carry around all of Lockhart's books while traversing the enormity of the castle on a daily basis and decided she just needed a few more weeks to get used to the new physical regime.

Ginny's favorite day of the week, Friday came around again. It was the day before Halloween and the Gryffindor first-years only had two classes. Double Potions with Slytherins in the morning which meant seeing Ash and of course Charms which met every day just before lunch.

Gwendelyn didn't join them again at their table and instead remained sitting with Kindra and her gang. Noticing how much attention from the girls Sterling had been getting the past couple of months, Atticus Harper, Cepheus Cooper, and Cole Flint insisted on him sitting with them at their table. This gave Logan Lawless, the person at the bottom of Harper's group of friends, an opportunity to hang out with Ginny, Colin, and Ash at their table for the duration of class. The only person who seemed put out by this friend swap was Kindra, who kept darting angry looks at Cepheus and Cole for stealing Sterling but she made up for it by lavishing extra attention on Gwendelyn.

The whole situation was bizarre to Ginny who didn't feel a "hierarchy" near so much in Gryffindor. Although, if she thought about it. The four other girls in her dorm seemed to stick together and yet Takara Himura always seemed to be the one on the bottom. The one who would separate and fetch things or the one would run errands for the others.

Ginny shook her head and put her mind back to the task at hand. Today they weren't making a potion but practicing proper methods for cutting up roots and laying them out to be dried without molding for future potion making. If all went well they would spend next week learning how to powder their ingredients and to what exact fineness was necessary to be properly powdered and to not be considered grains.

In Charms, Professor Flitwick was as good as his word and they practiced making objects fly. Earlier in the week, Colin had asked Hermione if it was true that this was the spell that Ron used to save her from the troll in the girls' bathroom the year before. Ron heard the question from a few tables away and since Harry was at Quidditch practice with the twins and the rest of the Gryffindor team, Ron took up the spotlight and retold the whole story, even the bit about Harry being the one who locked the troll in the bathroom with Hermione in the first place. Ron had the undivided attention of every first-year that night and the same from most of the older students. It had been the quietest Ginny ever heard the common room since term started.

Back in Charms class, Colin seemed to be remembering the event in the Gryffindor common room as well. "Their whole year last year was one long epic story wasn't it?" asked Colin. "I mean, everything just connected and Harry figured out that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was trying to come back and he saved us all again! Do you think He will try to come back again this year?"

Ginny thought about it for a moment. Then said, "No, it took him ten years to try to come back. I don't think we'll see whatever it is he's become now for a long time."

Usually in Charms class Ginny was the first one to master a new spell with Thaliana Cassidy and Blake Sullivan close on her heels. The best part was that she had needed less and less help from Tom in the diary and now was excelling at Charms completely on her own just like he said she would. Today however, everyone was surprised when the mischievous Emerson Faulkner was the first one to get his feather to rise up off his desk and slowly float it around the classroom. Ginny, Thaliana, and Blake spied his technique and their feathers closely followed suit but Emerson had such a huge grin on his face that nobody noticed the three of them also managed it.

"How'd you do that so fast?" shouted Richelle Ruiz from across the room while tossing her chocolate waves of hair over her shoulder in frustration.

"I've ALWAYS wanted to fly!" said Emerson. "I memorized the whole chapter and everything about charming air and earth magic together to make solid things fly!" He let his feather drop and picked up Professor Flitwick's eraser and zoomed it around the chalkboard erasing all the notes the class took earlier. He pointed his wand at an ancient candle puter-outer and extinguished half the candles in the room.

"Very good, Mr. Faulkner!" said Professor Flitwick. "You still have a way to go keep in mind," and Professor Flitwick relit all the extinguished candles with a flick of his wrist and then pointed his wand towards his chalkboard. Eight pieces of chalk rose at once and each one independently wrote one letter of Flitwick's name in great big curly letters all at the same time. "No homework over the weekend. Happy Halloween class, and I'll see you at the feast tomorrow!" He dismissed the class early and everyone clambered up from their desks excitedly.

The next day everyone in Gryffindor Tower was looking forward to the feast. Oliver Wood cancelled Quidditch practice for the Gryffindor team as many of them were going on a Hogsmeade trip. It was a quiet morning with just the first and second-years in the common room.

"I just heard that Professor McGonagall informed the prefects that she's going to be doing a dorm inspection!" Thaliana Cassidy had burst into the common room, very anxious. "Let's go Ladies, we are not going to fail under my watch!" Thaliana and Takara immediately headed upstairs, Charlotte and Richelle first both rolled their eyes and then followed.

"Should I tell Blake and the others?" asked Colin anxiously.

"No," said Ginny. "It's fake. A trick the older students play on the first-years. Percy complained for weeks and weeks when it was done to him," she smiled. "Just go with it, it'll be funny later."

Takara came back downstairs, "Ginny, Thaliana wants us all upstairs so we can organize our books in the same way on our shelves so the room looks uniform." Ginny grinned at Colin and headed up to her dormitory.

Ginny watched as Thaliana explained her reasoning for organizing the books in the particular layout she had chosen. Then she went to her bag and started pulling hers out one at a time. She saw the diary shoved into a corner of the bag and as she was reaching for it to hide it under her pillow she heard Takara from behind her four-poster hangings.

"I can help you if you'd like. I've already finished mine."

Ginny shoved the diary into a pocket of her robes and turned around with a smile. "That would be great." After Thaliana deemed their room nothing less than perfect. Ginny took off to find Colin and they made their way down to the library to find Ash and to get out of Thaliana's way while she tried to make the common room look perfect as well.

In the library the three of them put their heads together and whipped up a short essay each for History of Magic, (describe the atrocities of Emeric the Evil). Then they all groaned and set to task the first ever poem Professor Lockhart had assigned them. Usually Defense Against the Dark Arts homework entailed a short description of what Professor Lockhart had, in their opinion, done best in certain chapters of his books. Extra points were given to people who gushed over his greatness and it seemed points were taken away from anyone who said things along the lines of, "This is what I would have done instead . . ."

They chose to write about Travels with Trolls. After a few good laughs between Ginny and Ash making up verses that showed Professor Lockhart in very poor light, Colin gave them both exasperated looks and with Ginny's experience at rhyming words together, the three of them made three poems about three different scenes in the book. They each picked a poem to turn in and realized none of their other classes had assigned any homework.

"I wish we could all sit together at the feast," said Colin unexpectedly.

"Me too," said Ash. "But, it'll be great no matter what. Okay?"

Colin nodded. They packed up their stuff and headed to their separate common rooms to drop it off. Colin had taken Ginny's completed homework assignments and carefully put them in a folder into his bag. Ginny didn't have her bag with her since she'd organized all her stuff for the "inspection," but it was getting to be the end of the day and she still felt the exhaustion that she'd been feeling recently. This made her annoyed with herself. She had only brought down one roll of parchment, which Colin had carried, and a quill in her pocket. She'd used Colin's or Ash's books and Colin's inkwell when they worked on their homework. Maybe she was sicker than she'd realized she thought to herself. She decided if it kept up she would definitely revisit Madam Pomfrey, but so far it still seemed manageable.

When the two of them arrived in the Great Hall with the other Gryffindors, they were amazed. It was the first time they had ever seen it decorated for a holiday. There were live bats flying in giant swirls above them, occasionally grouping together so densely they blocked out the light of the floating candles above. Hagrid's giant pumpkins had reached enormous size with all the rain they'd been getting lately and were carved into lanterns so big that Ginny thought all her brothers attending school this year could probably squish into the smallest of them easily.

Professor Dumbledore opened with a short speech, "One year ago, our Halloween celebration was interrupted with the attack of a fully grown mountain troll. This year, I intend to make up for what we missed out on and have invited . . . more benign creatures for entertainment."

Music started, a troupe of dancing skeletons danced their way out onto the floor from the door that the teachers could disappear into behind their table. They danced to many contemporary songs Ginny heard on her mum's radio at home and even one from the famous Weird Sisters. They ended their performance with a jazzed up rendition of the Hogwarts school song. Everyone clapped while the skeletons tapped danced their way back through the door behind the staff table.

Just like at the Welcoming Feast, food magically appeared on all the serving plates at once. There were dishes upon dishes with pumpkin everywhere. No doubt the innards from the pumpkins Hagrid grew that now sat around the Great Hall. There was pumpkin pudding, pumpkin flavored potatoes, pumpkin used in glazed sauces for steaks and pork chops, and of course the ever present pumpkin juice. Ginny found she especially loved the pumpkin bread and decided she and her mum would spend Christmas holiday trying to replicate the recipe. After each course, Colin would pause and take a great gasping breath like he did after Quidditch Club practices then he would dig in when another course appeared.

"Where's the pumpkin pie?" he exclaimed loudly when the desserts were finally served.

Percy, who was sitting nearby, answered curtly, "They save it for the beginning of December."

"Oh," said Colin, only slightly disappointed. "Pumpkin pie is my favorite pie. But I guess saving it for Christmas is a good idea."

Ginny had hoped that after eating such a large meal and doing very little strenuous activity throughout the day, that she would feel more energized this weekend. Quite the opposite was happening though, it was almost as though the more excitement that was going on around her, the fainter and more flushed she felt.

She leaned over to Colin. "I don't really feel good. I'm going to go splash some cold water on my face."

Colin instantly looked concerned, "Do you want me to go with you?"

Ginny smiled, "You can't."

In the girls' bathroom Ginny removed her hat and her light cloak that went over her day wear robes. When she set it down she heard it thunk louder than it should have. Picking it up again, she realized the diary was still in the pocket from when she had hidden it from Takara in the dorm room. She put the diary under one arm and turned on a tap. She splashed cold water onto her face and rubbed more on the back of her neck. Then she went and sat down on the cushioned bench she'd used many times already. She had an almost instinctual draw to open the diary.

She balanced the little leather book on her lap and leaned to one side to retrieve the quill that was still in her other pocket and the diary fell open on its own. She immediately felt the haze surround her more powerfully than it ever had before and once again she was locked inside the box.


	9. Chapter Nine: The Heir of Slytherin

Chapter Nine: The Heir of Slytherin

When the haze and the box finally began to fade, Ginny found herself in her dorm room. She was staring at her reflection in the window that looked out over the grounds and for a fraction of a second she thought she heard a voice echoing in her head.

" _You are calm. You are happy. And you will forget."_

The net settled over her mind and she felt herself realize with a start that she was not in the bathroom on the bench. Thinking hard, all she remembered was reaching for her quill. After a quick check she found both it and the diary in the pockets of her robes.

The one and only time before she had moved without knowing she was moving, she had been in that same bathroom. She thought about the whispers she'd heard from other girls who didn't like using that toilet. But they always blamed it on "Moaning Myrtle." Now Ginny thought maybe they all just sensed something was off about that room. She resolved herself to never using that particular girls' room ever again.

Checking the time on the clock in her dormitory, she realized that the feast should be ending any minute now. She went to her wardrobe to put away her cloak and upon opening it, nearly screamed at the sight of herself. Her robes were covered in a red paint. Random drips and runs were everywhere. There were also traces of feathers and some sort of animal hairs as well, as thought she had picked something up and it had shed on her.

She quickly removed her robes and stuffed them into the bottom of her wardrobe where they couldn't be found. Breathing very heavily, she threw on some of her old Muggle clothes she'd brought from home. She tossed her quill into her book bag with the rest of her spares and shoved the diary under her pillow.

She sat down at her vanity desk, began to brush out her hair, and pulled it into a simple ponytail. She'd worn it down all day and wanted a completely different look from what she'd just seen in the mirror. Colin still had Charlie's green hooded Muggle jumper so she pulled on the borrowed, faded red one again. She knew it clashed horribly with her hair, but hearing people sounding anxious in the staircase, she decided to go down to the common room to see what all the commotion was anyway.

"GINNY! There you are! I couldn't find you and everyone was told to go back to their common rooms. What happened? You said you didn't feel very good and then the feast ended and when everyone was leaving the Great Hall we got stopped because we saw . . ." Colin looked like he couldn't explain what everyone had seen.

"There was this message painted on a wall in one of the corridors, something about a Chamber being opened and someone being an Heir and . . . and . . . and you know Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris? She was hanging right next to the sign by her tail from a torch on the wall!"

"What?" said Ginny.

"Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and your brother, Ron, they were there when everyone found the message and Mrs. Norris. Professor Dumbledore took her down from the torch and Filch was mad because he thinks they killed her cat. Lockhart offered the use of his office and the three of them were whisked away by Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Lockhart, and Filch."

"Mrs. Norris is dead?" asked Ginny, who had started to breath uncontrollably heavy again.

Colin mouthed wordlessly for a second before saying, "I don't know, but it looked like it. She was all stiff and not moving."

Silent tears began to stream from Ginny's eyes. She found an empty chair and sat down. Colin knew she had a soft spot for animals, how could he not after all the stories she'd shared with him about Abellios? He tried consoling her about Mrs. Norris's death but he couldn't possibly have imagined that what Ginny was most upset about was the fact that as soon as Colin had mentioned Mrs. Norris she had realized that the animal hairs she'd found on her robes upstairs looked exactly as though they could have come from her dusty colored coat.

"Did I do this?" Ginny wondered to herself.

: : : : :

The next morning, Colin brought down Charlie's hooded jumper from his dormitory. He handed it to Ginny who had mentioned she felt better wearing the Muggle clothes she grew up with. That they reminded her of being at home. This way, until classes started on Monday, she didn't have to see a repeat of that reflection in the mirror.

She started to pass Colin's red one back to him, who leaned away and said, "Why don't you keep it until you feel better?" That made Ginny crack the first small smile since she had found herself in her dormitory with no memory of going there the day before.

Nobody said they couldn't leave the common room this morning to head to breakfast and the two of them had a plan. Ron, Harry, and Hermione had come back late that night and news that Mrs. Norris was not dead, just petrified, traveled quickly. They were going to find Ash and pass a note to her to meet them in the library later, provided more announcements wouldn't be made confining them to the common rooms again.

Ginny was going to deliver the note, between the two of them it would be easier for her to get close to that many Slytherins and possibly away again unscathed by ridicule. But first, she had resolved to let Colin show her the writing on the wall. She decided last night, after the initial shock wore off, that she needed to see it for herself.

"There it is," said Colin. "Look, the wall bits close to the words look cleaner that the wall around it, I bet Filch has been trying to clean the message off."

"I wonder what it was written with?" said Ginny.

"It looks like blood," said Colin, "but that would be easy to clean up wouldn't it?"

"Unless it's spelled," said Ginny. It looked worse than she'd imagined. She walked up close to it and pretended to examine the difference in cleanliness Colin mentioned but in reality she was trying to gauge if she was tall enough to have written the message herself. Reaching up to the top of it, her worst fears were confirmed. It was exactly the height at which she could have written those horrible words:

 **THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.  
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE. (** **1)**

They headed to the Great Hall where there was a large board posting all of the clubs and school activities that had been cancelled until further notice, including Sunday Quidditch Scrimmage. They picked Ash out of the crowd, but Ginny didn't need to bother with trying to fight her way through a sea of Slytherins to get to her. Ash saw them and ran over to meet them.

"Library, ASAP," was all she whispered before looking them both in the eyes for confirmation. Then she went to the Slytherin table to pick up some toast and juice and pointedly carried them into the hall, motioning them to follow her.

Ginny and Colin ran to the Gryffindor table where they saw Ron, Harry, and Hermione. The two of them scooped up some easy to carry breakfast items and saw that Hermione was wolfing down her food as fast as she could and Ron and Harry were discussing Mrs. Norris's petrification while watching her with puzzlement.

They found Ash and Gwendelyn at a table in a quiet corner, far away from everyone else in the library, and as they sat down they put their plates in the middle of the table where Ash had put hers. Ash had a large and very old looking book in her lap.

"What's going on in Gryffindor?" asked Ash.

"What's Draco mean 'You'll be next Mudbloods'?" Colin asked at the same time.

Ginny glanced back and forth between the two of them and Gwendelyn stayed quiet, waiting for someone to start. Finally, Ginny relented, "Apparently, Harry, my brother, and Hermione found the message, and Mrs. Norris, moments before everyone else did. Mrs. Norris is petrified, not dead. That's all we know."

"The Heir of Slytherin is supposed to be a descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself, someone who can control a beast Salazar Slytherin hid inside the school somewhere he named the Chamber of Secrets. A chamber only the Heir can open," said Ash.

She opened the book she had been holding in her lap. It was titled _Hogwarts, A History_. "I got this down from the shelf this morning before breakfast. According to the legend, the beast is supposed to aid the Heir in purging the school of all students who aren't from all magical families."

"Mudbloods," said Colin solemnly. "So why Filch's cat?"

"GWENDELYN!"

All four of them jumped at the shout. Kindra Avery was glaring at them and she marched over to their table. "Did you _not see_ the message on the wall last night? You don't want to be seen with the likes of _him_!" she pointed at Colin.

Ginny got angry and made to stand in the way of Kindra reaching Gwendelyn but Ash stopped her with a whisper, "Just let her collect her, you'll make Gwen's life harder otherwise."

Ginny glared right back at Kindra who had only faltered for a second before hitching her superior smug smile back into place. Gwendelyn rushed to throw her things in her bag. She didn't look Ginny, Ash, or Colin in the face before sweeping past Kindra. Kindra gave them all a look of triumph and sauntered away from them.

"Why was Gwendelyn here?" Ginny asked.

"She saw me sitting here and no one else from our dormitory was here yet so she asked if she could sit with me," Ash replied simply.

"She's going to tell them everything we just said." Ginny watched as Kindra pulled Gwendelyn into the center of all the Slytherins who were still congregated in the library. "She's going to tell them about Mrs. Norris being petrified and about the legend of the Heir of Slytherin."

: : : : :

A few days later, it was announced that Quidditch Club would resume practices in the evenings and Ginny was glad that they could start flying again, but since it was Wednesday they were going to have to wait until tomorrow night. She had to take a deep breath every time she thought about it. She wanted to play Sunday after next, but the only way to do that was to be invited to be on a team.

Ginny was beginning to dread Wednesday night Astronomy classes at midnight. Not because of the class, but because unless she napped in the evenings before going she would nurse a pounding headache throughout the lesson. She was still feeling drained at the end of each day and it was starting to wear on her emotionally.

The scare of the message on the wall was wearing off, but still remained at the forefront in conversation topics. Filch finally gave up trying to scrub the message off the wall but students could still see him pacing the corridor in front of it, like he was waiting for the perpetrator to come back. Ginny was mortified with herself because Ron had once found her watching him and he tried to make her feel better by saying whoever did it was going to be found and expelled and that everyone was much better off without Mrs. Norris around for a while. But when he mentioned the possibility of Filch becoming petrified as a joke, it shook Ginny to the core.

Ron must have said something to Percy about it too, because that same night Percy pulled her aside and told her to tell him what was wrong. She tried to be strong. She tried to sound normal, but she was terrified that Ron, Harry, and Hermione were going to be found guilty for something she was sure she did herself and that they might get expelled for it instead of her.

At the same time, Ginny was so mentally exhausted again at the time Percy was interrogating her that she ended up bursting into tears. She didn't know what to do, she had no memory of attacking Mrs. Norris, but she was also sure her brother and his friends weren't guilty either. In the end, she decided not to tell Percy about losing track of time during the Halloween feast. She had just wanted to stop thinking for the night and telling Percy would only have led to more questions.

She didn't understand. She felt like she was doing well academically and her marks showed she was easily passing her classes. It didn't feel like the professors were giving too much homework or covering too many notes during lectures. She was sure her mother had pushed her at home much harder than this with her primary school lessons.

Nevertheless, History of Magic had her in a mentally frazzled state, even though it was the first class of the morning. Charms right after was worse, although that was more of an emotional blow than an intellectual one.

Professor Flitwick was starting them all on creating magical flames that required no candle wicks to continue burning. Ginny remembered how Tom in the diary said once she was able to light a candle she would remember how the magic feels and be able to light fires without a wick later. She hoped he was right.

Within a few minutes, Ginny, Emerson, and Thaliana all managed to produce magical fires. To their astonishment, everyone's turned out a different color. Thaliana produced a vibrant purple. Emerson a blazing orange, but not a normal fire orange color, it was brighter like there was a filter over it making it look more neon. Ginny's came out a pleasant forest green.

"Other than it not needing a source to feed from, your fires are as potent as any real fire from a burning log or a candle right now," Professor Flitwick lectured. "In a few years' time most of you will be able to change the color of your fire at will and some of you may even be able to create waterproof, portable fires that you can scoop into objects and carry around with you. But this takes an extensive amount of study before attempting, not many students are capable of such a feat."

Professor Flitwick set Ginny, Emerson, and Thaliana to helping him walk around the classroom to give pointers to their classmates who hadn't achieved their own flames yet. When Ginny got to Blake Sullivan, he immediately declined her help, "I'll wait for Thaliana, thank you." He shifted his gaze away from Ginny, clearly dismissing her.

"Why?" Ginny was bewildered, so far no one in Gryffindor had ever treated her in such a way. "Tell me!" she demanded after Blake had remained silent.

Blake turned and looked Ginny straight in the eye. "They're saying that Harry Potter is the Heir of Slytherin," he said. "Your brother is his best friend. Your whole family could be in on it for all I know." He looked over at Colin, "I wouldn't hang out with them if I were you, as a Muggle-born it's a sure way to put a target right on your back." Blake crossed his arms this time and again pointedly looked away from Ginny and he didn't go back to practicing with his wand until after she'd stalked off.

"I don't think your family, or Harry Potter has anything to do with it," said Colin after Ginny sat back down next to him rather than possibly facing another student who shared the same sentiment as Blake. "You can still help me," he said. "I don't think Thaliana or Emerson is going to come over here anyway," he went on, "they don't want to associate with a Muggle-born right now."

"You'd think everyone would want to buddy up to me," she replied. "Since Jai, Thaliana, and I are the only pure-bloods here."

"They're all scared," whispered Colin. "But it makes them feel better that I'm at the bottom."

"Are _you_ scared?" Ginny whispered back. Colin paused for a long moment, but he eventually closed his eyes and gave the smallest silent nod with his head.

After Charms they trooped back down to the Great Hall for lunch and then out to the greenhouses for Herbology. Thankfully there, Ginny and Colin's group partners also consisted of another Muggle-born. The four of them worked together like normal and Keishawn almost took Ginny's mind completely off the writing on the wall by talking about their Quidditch Club practice they were going to have the next night and the upcoming Inter-House Cup match between Gryffindor and Slytherin on Saturday. Both Josh and Keishawn confirmed that all of Hufflepuff House was rooting for a Gryffindor win.

On their way back to the Great Hall for an early dinner, before preparing for Astronomy later that night, the Gryffindors were streaming past the History of Magic corridor and Colin perked up. He had memorized Harry's schedule weeks ago and knew he would be coming down the hall at any moment. Ginny shrank back, embarrassed but used to it by now, she watched as Colin hollered a greeting to Harry.

" **Hiya Harry!"**

" **Hullo, Colin," said Harry automatically.**

" **Harry — Harry — A boy in my class has been saying you're —"**

 **But Colin was so small he couldn't fight against the tide of people bearing him toward the Great Hall;** he managed to squeak out, **"See you, Harry!" (** **2)** before Harry disappeared around a corner. Colin grinned at Ginny. She just shook her head and sighed and they continued on their way to dinner.

Quotes:

(1) CoS page 138  
(2) CoS page 153


	10. Chapter Ten: Lockhart's Last Mistake

Chapter Ten: Lockhart's Last Mistake

 _Dear Mum,_

 _Percy's probably going to write about this to you himself, but he got all of us together to decide who gets to go with you to Egypt. It sounds like Harry and Hermione are staying for Christmas this year, so I think Ron is staying too. They keep whispering about something that is going to take at least a month and they want to be around for it._

 _That leaves me, Percy, and the twins. The twins refused to go without each other, either they are both staying or they are both going. If they both stay, then both Percy and I can go and either Ron can come or we have an extra ticket. If they both go, and it sounds like they both want to go, then Percy and I have to decide which one of us gets to go with you guys between ourselves._

 _But it sounds like Percy wants to stay. He mentioned that he wrote to you guys about the writing on the wall, and he said he was thinking about staying over Christmas break because the teachers could use the support over the holidays. That means the twins and I get to come with you to Egypt to visit Bill!_

 _Colin has already decided he wants to go home anyway, he misses his dad and he really misses his little brother Dennis. Ash has already received a note from home informing her that she is expected to go home for the break because her parents have "people they want to introduce her to." So there really isn't going to be anyone here for me to hang out with and visiting Bill sounds like it will be so much fun!_

 _Give Dad my best!_

 _Love, Ginny_

It was Friday morning, the day before the first Inter-House Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Slytherin and Ginny and Colin were sending out letters. They learned weeks ago that there were more owls available in the mornings before classes started rather than afterwards when everyone else was trying to send letters.

Ginny wrote this most recent note home the night before, right after Percy talked to them about going abroad for the holidays. She couldn't wait to go home. She also couldn't wait to see Bill. She only worried that her mum might notice her exhaustion and make her quit Quidditch altogether.

The Little owl, which had faithfully carried all of Ginny's mail to the Burrow so far, flew straight down and stuck out her leg, waiting. Ginny smiled and gave her a thorough petting after she tied the letter to her. As always, the Little owl relaxed into the petting for a few moments before abruptly standing up straight and ruffling her feathers, sending dust motes flying. Every time, it looked as though she remembered she was post owl and had a job to do and that the petting was a distraction. Then she stretched her wings and took off out through one of the windows high up by the rafters.

Coming back into the castle from the Owlery, Ginny and Colin picked up their cauldrons and floated them to the dungeons for Potions. Colin had started regularly using a pair of Barn owls to send pictures home with. He didn't need two owls, necessarily, but these two seemed to do everything together and if one had a package tied to its leg neither left until the other had its own package to deliver as well. Instead of finding a different owl, Colin was amused and started splitting his packages he sent home, one to his dad and one to Dennis.

"We should name them," said Colin.

"The owls? They're school owls. They don't have names do they?" said Ginny.

"It could be names that only we call them."

Ginny just nodded, "Okay," she said placatingly.

They arrived at the door of their classroom and went in to sit next to Ash. Everyone was more spread out these days. Almost none of the tables had all four seats taken. Even the rest of the Gryffindor girls had split themselves into pairs, Thaliana and Takara, and Richelle and Charlotte. Blake had recently begun working at a table by himself but Jai, Jasper, and Emerson still stayed together doing their best not to make each other laugh and warrant any extra attention from Professor Snape.

So far, Ginny noticed that Professor Snape had not singled out any one person of the class to ridicule on a regular basis, nor had he picked any to favor for that matter either. He did seem to give Cole Flint and Kindra Avery a bit more leeway with what he considered a passable potion, but he never outright spoke any praise to them.

Anytime he checked Ash's potions he expressed no emotion on his face. He would merely look at her work and write a note, but Ash's potions were always perfect and she never needed any leeway. When he looked at Ginny and Colin's potions he tended to have the smallest muscle twitch in an eyebrow or a cheek but other than their grade for the day he wrote nothing.

Ginny was still waiting for Professor Snape's animosity, which Ron always talked about experiencing, in class. Apparently Snape had some comment to say about everything during their entire period while he wasn't lecturing. It seemed however, that she was getting Percy's description of Professor Snape, strict but fairly straightforward.

Even the twins disliked Professor Snape, although Ginny was sure that they brought on all of the teachers' irritable sides themselves. As much as they touted disliking him though, it was always Potions and Charms related material Ginny would see them working on whenever she decided to visit with them in the common room or would notice when she walked by their table spread out with homework. She hoped that wasn't an indication of the homework she would be having in the future. The twins weren't even starting their OWL's this year but they were constantly working on theories.

Today started as usual, at precisely nine o'clock Professor Snape entered from the office at the back of the class. He approached his blackboard and would begin to write the necessary ingredients on it, while he did so he would give a short history on the potion or technique they would be working on and why it is important to wizarding society. Afterwards he would let them prepare their ingredients and begin.

It just so happened that today the potion required doxy eggs, which first-year students weren't required to buy at the apothecary in Diagon Alley. So Professor Snape instructed them all to carefully get what they needed from the student store-cupboard. He pointed his wand at the cupboard door and it creaked open.

When all the rest of their ingredients were ready Colin volunteered to get the eggs for everyone at the table. The other Gryffindor boys were already measuring out their doxy eggs so Colin patiently waited for an opening. When one of them moved aside, he carefully measured out requirements for three people and began to make his way back to their table.

"Oops," said Kindra. She had sauntered past Colin while he was concentrating on carefully walking back and deliberately bumped him so he spilled most of his eggs.

Ginny jumped up immediately, "That wasn't an accident Kindra and you know it!" She bent down and started to help him clean up the eggs. Some of them had rolled under the desk that Kindra and her minions were working at, and Gwendelyn started to push them out with the toe of her shoe.

"Don't help the Mudblood and blood traitor, Gwen!" barked Kindra. "It's good training for later in their lives."

"Who are you calling a Mudblood and blood traitor?" Ginny was surprised to hear this roared out of Blake's mouth. Blake, who just two days ago refused Ginny's help in Charms class. Blake stepped right up to Kindra and looked down at her square in the face. Jai, Jasper, and Emerson came over and stood behind Blake, all arms crossed.

Colin was still down on the floor trying to find every last doxy egg. "It's fine you guys," he called, "I don't care."

"See, he's fine with it," Kindra smiled. She glanced over to make sure Professor Snape was still busy checking the Slytherin boys' ingredients before they started their potions. "He knows his place," she said smugly. Ginny moved to physically hurt Kindra, she'd been in too many scuffles with Ron and the twins to be intimidated by a girl her own size.

Ash stepped between them, "Don't, not in this class," she hissed at Ginny. But Ginny had already moved aside and let Kindra have her way once when she'd bullied Gwendelyn, no way was she going to get away with bullying Colin too. She flew past Ash and shoved Kindra down hard. Only Emerson reacted quick enough to swoop down and catch Ginny around the arms, wrapping her in a bear hug from behind so she wouldn't be able to do anymore damage.

Even though Emerson was small in stature himself, though not as small as Colin, he had the advantage with the bear hug and he lifted Ginny up off her feet and spun her around so she was no longer facing Kindra before setting her back down. Kindra was angry but unhurt and she managed to stand up again in a dignified manner.

"What's going on here?" Everybody froze. Professor Snape finally made his way over to all the commotion.

"Ginny shoved Kindra down to the ground Professor, Kindra didn't even touch her," began Kindra's main minion, Rydia Nolan.

"Kindra called Colin a Mudblood!" roared Blake.

"Be that as it may," said Snape, "Fighting is not tolerated on school grounds. Twenty-five points from Gryffindor, and Miss Weasley, help Creevey find every single doxy egg. If so much as one hatches in this dungeon tonight, you will serve detention and clean every inch of this classroom with doxycide rather than watch your brothers play in tomorrow's match."

Blake, Jai, Jasper, Emerson, and Ash bent down to help Colin and Ginny. Thaliana and the other Gryffindor girls had already begun mixing their potions and couldn't leave them unattended, but they were glaring at Kindra from their tables.

"Why don't a couple of you guys go start on the potion," said Blake to the other boys. Jai and Jasper stood up. It made sense, they didn't need seven people searching the floor for doxy eggs.

"Thank you," said Ginny to Blake.

A muscle in Blake's jaw twitched. "Nobody should be called a Mudblood," he said to Ginny. Then he glanced over at Colin, "But I still stand by what I said, she's volatile enough to get into a fist fight. You don't know what her family is capable of."

Ginny started to protest, but once again Ash stopped her. When Ginny looked at her indignantly all Ash said was, "Now, is not the time." With that Blake finished the section of floor he was working on and handed over the eggs he picked up off the ground to Colin and went back to making his own potion.

"Well I thought that was Bad Ass," said Emerson. Ginny and Colin stared wide-eyed at Emerson's casual swearing in the classroom and both of them darted looks over to Professor Snape who was thankfully out of earshot at the moment. Ash just snorted trying to hide a laugh.

"You just went for it," he said grinning at Ginny. "Kindra's all talk. She's not going to mess with you face to face like that again any time soon. I'm surprised you didn't get detention for fighting actually. If it had been me I'd have probably been suspended, or whatever the equivalent it is here at Hogwarts."

"Professor Snape didn't see the fighting," said Ash "and Kindra had already gotten up unhurt when he came over so there was no evidence and Kindra didn't get in trouble for calling Colin what she called him because he didn't hear it. Frankly, I'm surprised Blake wasn't punished for saying it out loud, but he wasn't calling anyone it at the time I suppose."

Ginny was used to using doxycide at home with her mum and did one last check for any stray eggs on the floor. She knew they could bounce and stick to anything so she checked every nook and cranny of every chair and table before declaring them all finished. While she was doing this Professor Snape finished writing something at his desk and conjured a fire in the fireplace behind it. There he tossed the message he had written and it disappeared within the flames.

Ginny, Colin, and Ash barely managed to finish their potions on time and were late getting out of the classroom because Professor Snape took his time checking them over.

When they were finally allowed to leave Ginny paused in the corridor, "Why did you stop me?" she demanded to Ash. "First when Kindra was bullying Gwendelyn, then you tried to when Kindra was bullying Colin, and then when Blake was being unfair about my whole family!"

"I think, I'm going to let you girls work this one out," said Colin. "I'll tell Professor Flitwick you might be a few minutes late. I'm sure it'll be fine. You're his favorite." He started to quickly walk towards the Charms corridors.

As soon as he was around the corner, Ash started. "Because girl! You _have_ to know when to let people stand up for themselves!" she said with a look of disbelief on her face.

"You can't stop Kindra from hollering at Gwendelyn because you can't guard Gwendelyn every minute of every day. Eventually Kindra would have just pounced on her when you weren't around and it would have been ten times worse for Gwen."

"The same with Colin. You can't get all hot blooded over what Blake is saying because later when it's the just the boys in the boys' dormitory you aren't going to be there to stand up for him and your friendship. _He_ has to."

"As for when Kindra was bullying Colin? I knew you were going to hit her, and fighting in _Snape's_ classroom is about the most thoughtless way of getting back at her as you can get!"

Ash took a deep breath and after a moment, Ginny followed suit.

"Are we okay?" Ash asked.

Ginny took a moment to think about what Ash said, "Yeah, that makes sense I guess." She took another deep breath on her own accord this time. "So what do I do? You're the super one."

"Leave it to me," said Ash with a glint of mischief in her eye. "Your Head of House is probably going to call you in for a private chat."

"How do you know?"

"Because that has to be the message Professor Snape sent, it only makes sense. You were the perpetrator in starting the fight."

"Kindra started that fight."

"Yes, but you hit first."

Ginny looked away, but still mumbled, "I had reason."

"Yes, you did," said Ash. "So confess."

"What?" said Ginny startled.

"When your Head of House asks if you've been fighting, confess," repeated Ash. "Confess, and leave the rest to me."

"Why?" asked Ginny. She was more curious than suspicious.

"Kindra is very good at the game she plays," said Ash. "The thing is, I'm better." She smiled her own smug smile. "And nobody picks on my Gryffindors and gets away with it."

: : : : :

That evening, Ginny and Colin were in the common room preparing to go to dinner in the Great Hall, when Professor McGonagall met them just outside the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Follow me, you two."

Professor McGonagall led them to her office door. It was on the first floor near the Entrance Hall. Inside there was a big fireplace and the windows looked out over the Training Grounds and the Quidditch Pitch. At the door, Professor McGonagall dismissed Colin and he went on to the Great Hall. She motioned Ginny inside and pointed at a chair for her to sit in.

"I understand you may have been involved in a physical altercation?" Professor McGonagall's gaze was piercing, like she was trying to see into Ginny's very soul and flush out the lies.

Ginny remembered what Ash had said, ' _Confess.'_

She took a took a deep breath and what felt like was a very audible gulp before saying, "Yes, Ma'am." Ginny let her eyes fall to her lap in shame. At the time it seemed perfectly reasonable to shove Kindra's smug face as far away from Colin as she could, but now it felt very rash and impulsive.

"Would you care to elaborate?"

Ginny looked up confused, she was sure she was just going to get some sort of punishment.

"Why don't you start from the beginning."

Ginny began in a monotone voice and described everything she remembered. Colin went to get doxy eggs for the whole table, Kindra deliberately bumped him to make him spill everything he'd measured out. Ginny jumping up and trying to get Kindra to admit it wasn't a mistake. Gwendelyn trying to help with the cleanup which incited Kindra into calling Colin a Mudblood. Blake standing up for Colin and Kindra just bullying worse.

It was when Ginny was explaining how Kindra saying Colin was doing what he was born to do, cleaning up messes, that her voice stopped being monotone and became very passionate. Ginny had wanted push her as far away from Colin as she could force her to go. All she remembered was using her feet to propel her hands into shoving her in one blow as hard as she could.

Ginny admitted that everyone, including Ash tried to stop her, and Colin certainly didn't approve of her protective methods. She said that she felt that there was nothing she could possibly have said to Kindra to make her feel as terrible as she was making Colin feel, and that the only way she could make Kindra feel the same pain was by making her feel it physically. In that moment, she wanted Kindra to be afraid, she wanted her to feel unsure of herself, and she wanted her to feel some sort of agony same as all she had been inflicting upon Colin.

She told Professor McGonagall that in the end, the only one brave enough to force Ginny to stop was Emerson Faulkner who had tied her into a gentle bear hug until she'd calmed down, but by then Professor Snape had stepped in. "He took twenty-five points from Gryffindor," she finished.

"It would have been fifty if he had seen it happen," said Professor McGonagall. "After which he messaged me."

Ginny nodded, "It was wrong."

"Oh, yes, it was," agreed Professor McGonagall and her voice became more severe than Ginny had ever heard it before, "In all the years I've been teaching you and your brothers, _you_ are the first of your siblings that has been brought into my office for a physical altercation. Congratulations."

Ginny winced. Finally, she had been compared to her brothers for doing something they never had before and it did not make her happy.

"Are you going to write home to my mum?" she asked in a small voice.

"Oh, yes. No doubt about that. Fighting is not tolerated whatsoever at Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall matter-of-factly. "But I will impress the idea that you were acting in defense of your friend. This is your first offense, Miss Weasley, and if you are anything like your brothers I'm quite sure this will not be the last time I see you in my office."

"Are you going to tell my brothers?" Ginny asked warily. "Are you going to tell Percy?"

"Why ever would I involve another student?" said Professor McGonagall with that same piercing gaze, but this time with a less severe tone. "The only way your brothers will hear about this is if you tell them yourself."

Ginny took a deep breath, the less Percy breathed down her neck the better. Both he and Ron were still checking in on her every day since she'd slipped up and cried in front of Percy.

"Now as for your detention, provided Miss Avery confirms you physically shoved her to the ground, both you and her are to report to Professor Kettleburn's Livestock Lodge tonight at eight o'clock. He will oversee your discipline."

"Both . . . me and Kindra?" asked Ginny questioningly. "I'm the one who shoved her."

"Oh, yes. As I said, Hogwarts has a no fighting tolerance. It takes a minimum of two students to be in a physical altercation. She will also serve in detention. Now, you said she called Mr. Creevey a 'Mudblood' correct?" It looked as though Professor McGonagall were writing a note to Professor Kettleburn.

Ginny narrowed her eyes and nodded.

"In that case, I think I have everything I need. You may go and be sure to be prompt when arriving at the Livestock Lodge."

Ginny sighed a great breath of relief when she got out of Professor McGonagall's office. She went into the Great Hall, thankfully other students were still streaming through the corridors to get to it and found Colin.

In a timid voice he said, "I saved you a spot."

Ginny gave a small smile, "Thanks."

"How bad was it?"

"It wasn't. She didn't yell. I got to tell the whole story, and she's going to write home to my mum."

Colin's eyes got big, "Do you think your mum might send you a Howler?"

"You know, I'm more worried about that than I am my detention."

"You got a detention too? That's not fair, writing home to your mum is already the worst."

"The best part is, both me and Kindra get to serve detention though."

"Kindra got a detention too!"

"Yup, we both have to report to Professor Kettleburn's Livestock Lodge. I bet that means we have to clean up all the stalls and cages." Ginny wrinkled her nose at the notion. Then her eyes became huge with wonder as an idea popped into her head. "I BET we have to clean the stalls and cages!" she repeated excitedly.

Colin looked at her with a puzzled expression, "How is that exciting?"

"I have had to clean a LOT of things at the Burrow, but I just bet you anything that Kindra has never touched anything disgusting in her life, let alone cleaned anything! She didn't even want to touch the Sorting Hat remember? Ash knew it too! Ash set this up somehow, she said 'Leave it to me.' She said she was better at the 'game' than Kindra was."

: : : : :

At seven-forty Ginny left Gryffindor Tower and headed to the Entrance Hall where Filch was already waiting. She blanched at the sight of him, the thought of Mrs. Norris still being petrified crossed her mind again.

"Not surprised to see a first-year Weasley in detention," said Filch in a voice that oozed malice.

"I'm my own person," Ginny said under her breath, growing ever more tired of being compared to the Weasleys who came before her. "I am _not_ just like my brothers."

Filch must've had ears like a bat, "You're not, _not_ just like them either though, are ya?" he said with a sneer.

Moments later Kindra appeared, seemingly from the dungeons. "Had I known that I was going to get detention too, I wouldn't have admitted that you were violent and shoved me to the ground," she said under her breath.

"I guess you aren't as brilliant as you think you are," Ginny muttered back.

Filch walked them around the castle past the greenhouses. A little way past Hagrid's Hut stood a very tall, very long barn looking structure. It was way too big to be a barn though. Livestock Lodge was an apt name for the building. A fourth of it was nothing but stalls that could house all sorts of large creatures, another section was for cages, another section contained an open arena for training, and yet another section appeared to be a sort of animal infirmary area. Ginny imagined that upstairs was where they stored all the hay and the feed and extra equipment.

"Professor Kettleburn, I've brought the delinquents."

Professor Kettleburn was the not what Ginny was expecting to see. She'd heard he was the Care of Magical Creatures professor and he had been Charlie's very favorite teacher. He had one arm, half a leg and the other two limbs were made of wood. Ginny had no idea how he managed to get around, let alone care for the animals in his charge.

"Good, I need a couple of pairs of hands to help out tonight," Professor Kettleburn grunted. Filch left after saying he'd be back around eleven to see if they'd finished their punishment.

"I doubt that," said Professor Kettleburn, "but you're welcome to wait if you do come down."

Kindra looked lived at the idea that their detention was going to last so long.

"You, Red," said Professor Kettleburn talking to Ginny. "I'm told you don't flinch in the face of something difficult."

Unsure of what he could be talking about, Ginny just shook her head no. Kindra rolled her eyes.

"Good. You're kind of small, but you can help me directly. I need someone with two hands and isn't afraid of feisty animals. As for you," he glanced in Kindra's direction. "You ever muck out stalls before kid?"

Kindra's eyes got very round, "I don't even know what that means."

Professor Kettleburn picked up a shovel that was leaning against the wall, "I had quite a few Hippogriffs in here last week and they made a huge mess. Take this shovel and that there wheelbarrow," he pointed at a very old, very heavy looking wheelbarrow next to the first stall, "and put the mess on the floor in the wheelbarrow. When the wheelbarrow is full wheel it out that way," he pointed to a large open door at the back end of the building, "where there is a large pile of mess and add what was in the stall to it. There are seven stalls, it would take a decent shoveler a little over two hours to complete, a good one much less than that. When you finish all the stalls and the main floor aisle is clean, you can be done."

Kindra hesitantly took the shovel Professor Kettleburn held out to her and then walked over to one of the stalls. She looked inside and immediately withdrew. The look on her face said that she was so disgusted that she was nearly afraid of doing what she was told to do.

Ginny just smiled internally. She would have been able to complete that task in a cinch. She would have been waiting for Filch to come down and escort her back to the castle.

"You, follow me," said Professor Kettleburn to Ginny. After seeing Kindra's punishment she was a little apprehensive for what was in store for her, even if Ash had fixed it so that it wouldn't be too terrible.

Professor Kettleburn led Ginny back to the infirmary. "There was quite the storm about a week ago, and many of the animals around here got banged up pretty bad. Hagrid brought in so many he'd found in the forest that he's had to keep some of them in that hut of his. He comes over every day though, him and that great big dog of his, and they help tend to the wounded with me. Problem is, he's taking this weekend to set traps for whatever killed his rooster the other day. So I need someone who can help me change some these bandages tonight."

"These are wild animals most of them keep in mind, they don't necessarily like to be touched by people. I've got some gloves over here if you want, but I'll tell ya now they'll only make the job take longer."

Ginny looked at the pair of massive dragon hide gloves and decided he was right. Those would make it take much longer to re-bandage all the animals that needed it. Instead, she opted for a pair of simple leather wrist guards normally used for birds to be able to sit comfortably on one's outstretched arm and then tied her hair back and looped it around the ponytail and secured the ends creating a very ill-made bun to keep it out of the way.

Professor Kettleburn walked her through the process of calming the animals and taking off the old bandages. While they were cleaning the affected area of an ordinary post owl, a boy popped into the room.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor." He took off his pull-over and threw it in a corner in a familiar manner and walked over to where Ginny and Professor Kettleburn were.

"You're late again, Mr. Faulkner," sighed Professor Kettleburn.

Ginny's fellow Gryffindor first-year attempted a winning smile, "and I got the berries you said would be impossible to get for the unicorn foal, to help fix his hoof infection."

Professor Kettleburn looked over at Emerson Faulkner in astonishment. Then he seemed to collect himself, "Did you steal these boy? Professor Snape and Professor Sprout both claimed to not have any and I couldn't find them in the village either."

"No. They were given to me fair and square."

"Why?"

Emerson shrugged, "I just asked for them."

"From who?"

"What does it matter?" said Emerson, pretending to be exasperated. "The foal can be properly healed now!" Then he gave Professor Kettleburn a wide-eyed look Ginny knew all too well. It was the same look the twins gave their mum when she caught them doing something which was probably wrong but she couldn't quite put her finger on it and therefore couldn't punish them for misbehaving.

Professor Kettleburn caved and took the sack of berries from Emerson's outstretched hand. "Tonight's your last detention! Show Red how to change these bandages. Properly mind!" He started to stalk away with the berries.

"But I have four more Friday nights!" argued Emerson, in a somewhat laughing manner with a grin on his face.

"I said tonight's your last night! I'm going to get this into a salve and after these bandages are changed I don't want to see your face again!" barked Professor Kettleburn.

Emerson walked over to Ginny, "He's going to miss me."

She finished cleaning the feathers that had been under the bandages and was waiting to be shown how to re-bandage the wing, "How do you know he's going to miss you? What did you do to get four nights of detention?"

"It was seven nights of detention helping in the Lodge, and he finally bothered to learn my name. That's how I know he's going to miss me," smirked Emerson.

Ginny waited, but Emerson didn't seem keen on explaining how he was in detention. She pressed the issue again, "How did you get detention?"

"Sneaking around the castle after hours, learning too many of its secrets, got lost, got caught. And more detentions were added when I constantly showed up late."

"Where did you get the berries?" Emerson looked Ginny up and down and shook his head. "I'm not going to tell anyone!" she said in a near screech.

"Not even your prefect brother? Not even Colin?" They finished the owl they were working on.

Ginny paused, "Maybe Colin, but _never_ Percy!" she admitted. She started on a gnome.

"Be careful, that guy likes to bite. Hagrid found him in his garden a few days ago, same day he found a dead rooster."

"I know how to handle these things. We've got tons of them where I live at home."

"When you're done I'll show you this jarvey." Emerson's eye lit up with mischief, "I've got him repeating the most hilarious things! Professor Kettleburn tried to tell me off for it once, but I could tell he was trying not to laugh."

In the end, Emerson told Ginny of quite a few new places in the castle and how he'd found them while they helped some bowtruckles who had been blown out of their trees, several post owls, one clabbert, the gnome, the jarvey, another student's pet cat who had been in a fight with the jarvey both of which were being held until Professor Kettleburn determined if either one was sick with any disease. They both got to take turns bottle feeding the golden unicorn foal whose front hoof and all the way up the cannon bone to the knee were now bandaged in a brightly colored wrap.

While they were working, Emerson told her how he found house elves in the kitchens, lots of secret passageways, and the funnest room he'd ever seen but hasn't been able to find again since.

Ginny received some bites from the gnome and nips from the owls but nothing she hadn't encountered before. Professor Kettleburn gave her a salve for the places the animals managed to draw blood and said she'd be fine in a few days' time.

There were other animals there as well, but Professor Kettleburn wouldn't let even Emerson near those. One was a hippogriff with a large gash on one of its withers from being in a territorial fight. The three of them stopped in front of another stall and Emerson made soothing sounds to it from the door while Professor Kettleburn made notes on his chart. Ginny curiously peered into the stall, but furled her eyebrows when she saw nothing except straw on the floor.

"This one can move to the main stalls tomorrow after the other kid is done cleaning them," mumbled Professor Kettleburn. Emerson nodded in agreement.

Heading back to the front area, away from the infirmary, Professor Kettleburn checked on a fire full of salamanders and added some logs to the blaze. Further away he checked on a case full of what he called streelers which he kept to teach to his fourth-year students after they'd finished with the salamanders.

The three of them found Kindra, who was working on her third stall. Her hair was a mess and there were several small loose pieces of straw stuck to it. There were dark dirty marks on her arms, neck, and forehead, and on her clothes. Her cheeks looked like they were tear stained but she wasn't crying now. Ginny doubted Kindra ever cried in front of anyone and probably heard them coming and dried her tears.

Filch was waiting for them in the Lodge's office.

"You can take these two back up to the castle, Argus. Unless," Professor Kettleburn glanced at Ginny and Emerson, "unless they choose to help the young lady." He indicated Kindra who was now picking up each shovelful with vehemence.

"I don't need their help!" she screeched from within the stall. Ginny heard Filch give a grunt and saw him roll his eyes.

"We could at least take the full wheelbarrows to the pile out back," said Ginny to Emerson.

"Absolutely not," replied Emerson. "She called your best friend a Mudblood, or have you forgotten?" He grabbed Ginny's arm and started to lead her away.

Ginny jerked herself away from him, growing up with six brothers that was second nature to her, "It would give us a chance to show her what being treated decently is really like!"

"Just get out of here, Ginny!" Kindra screeched again, eyes filled with malice.

"She's not ready for that," said Emerson. Ginny turned and glared into his eyes. Eyes that knew so much yet revealed so little, like an approaching storm still brewing in the distance. Ginny tried to make sense of the storm that she saw but all she could tell was that it was honest. She was getting exactly what she could see. Nothing more, nothing less.

That honesty, combined with what Colin said echoing in her mind, _"Emerson didn't grow up with a very good life before coming to Hogwarts . . . but he has a really good heart. He doesn't try to be bad,"_ made Ginny relent. She glanced back for one more look at Kindra, who was standing in an uninviting pose, and Ginny walked out the door, away from her.

"Let's go, Argus," Emerson said to Filch, much to Filch's chagrin.

: : : : :

"You should've stayed and helped her," said Colin the next morning. "It would have been the right thing to do."

"Yeah, it seems easy to think that now. Here, in daylight, where everyone is happy and excited," said Ginny. They were in the Gryffindor common room getting ready to head down to breakfast before everyone in the whole school streamed out to the Quidditch Pitch for the opening match between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"You weren't there last night," she went on, "Professor Kettleburn seemed to want me to do exactly as you said after suggesting it, but Filch just sneered from the chair he was sitting in. They were practically exact opposites. Emerson seemed to be the only one who made any sense of the situation. I felt like he was right, she wasn't ready for me to be nice to her. She'd see it as weakness."

Colin furled his eyebrows, "I guess in Kindra's world that's a weakness."

Ginny's sighed a breath of relief, that's exactly what she was trying to convey, Kindra would see it as a weakness, even if nobody else did. Colin had a way of putting into words what she could not.

"I guess we'll just have to show her a better world," said Colin, full of optimism again.

"That could take forever," Ginny said while rolling her eyes.

"We have seven years," he grinned.

: : : : :

The two of them met Ash in the Entrance Hall, where they sat on the marble steps after everyone else went into the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Did Kindra love seeing you in detention?" asked Ash in a mockingly sweet voice.

"What detention?" asked Ginny laughingly. "I got to help sick animals and feed a baby unicorn!"

"Kindra was pretty tight lipped about all of it, but I can only imagine what she had to do by the way she smelled when she finally got in last night!" said Ash.

"She didn't get to see me serve detention at all, she was too busy hauling manure from stalls to the pile out back. No magic. What did you say to get her to agree I knocked her down?"

"I used logic," said Ash coyly. "I said, it doesn't matter if she says you did or didn't shove her down. Rydia, her best friend, had already told Professor Snape that you did. They would know she was lying if she said otherwise."

"But they could have just said Rydia was lying to get me into trouble."

"Kindra didn't have time to think of that, she was too busy bickering with Rydia about opening her fat mouth before Kindra could decide what to tell and what to keep quiet about. They aren't speaking to each other right now."

Ginny laughed. Colin was glancing back and forth between the two of them, "This is way more complicated than anything we would have done to each other in the boys' dorms. I mean you had to rely on Kindra telling the truth to Professor Snape, and that the teachers would send them to Professor Kettleburn and that Professor Kettleburn would divide their detention tasks the way he did. How did you know all that was going to happen?"

"Kindra didn't talk to Professor Snape, she was interviewed by Professor McGonagall because Ginny started the physical altercation. Plus, I knew the types of detentions McGonagall liked to use. Dax complained loudly about them at home all the time. So, I nudged." Ginny and Colin gave her blank looks. "I pulled some strings," she clarified.

"What kind of strings?" asked Colin.

"The Slytherin kind," said Ash, exasperated.

"She whispered the right things into the right peoples' ears who would whisper those things in other peoples' ears until they eventually got to the right person," explained Ginny.

"Sounds shady," said Colin.

"But done right, it works well," replied Ash with a triumphant smile.

Changing the topic of conversation, Colin asked Ash if she was going to sit with them for the match later.

"She can't, she has to sit with the rest of the Slytherins," said Ginny. "And she should, especially after what she just did for me. She has to show solidarity." Ginny was catching onto this 'game' Ash and Kindra were already playing. She had a feeling, it would be around for quite some time.

After breakfast, Ginny and Colin followed the rest of the Gryffindors to the stadium. They sat with their fellow first-years near Ron and Hermione who were among the other second-years.

Madam Hooch started the game with the toss of the Quaffle and the match immediately took a turn for the worst.

Ginny could tell Malfoy was taunting Harry from the air, though she couldn't make out his words. Her stomach swirled within her as she watched Draco put on a burst of speed with his broom and knew no one on the Gryffindor team could match it and that everyone on the Slytherin team had the same broom.

A Bludger nearly took off Harry's head, and Ginny watched anxiously as her brother, George, flew over to redirect it. But the Bludger turned around and went straight back to target Harry. George hit it again toward Malfoy this time, the whack was audible across the whole stadium, and again the Bludger changed course pelting straight for Harry.

By now Fred was aware of the tampered with Bludger and when Harry zoomed to his side of the arena, he hit it with such force that it looked like the ball was finally knocked completely off course. But once again, it swerved in the air and headed straight for Harry.

Everything around Ginny went silent. Her own fear of being knocked off her broom in mid-flight was taking place right in front of her very eyes. Even though it was happening to Harry, she imagined herself up there in the air trying to dodge a force capable of sending a person plummeting to their death.

It began to rain but Ginny couldn't feel the cold droplets landing on her, she could see the people around her shouting in chaos but didn't hear a thing, she could see them pointing to the crazy Bludger doing its best to unseat Harry from his Nimbus. She knew the Slytherin Chasers were scoring goal after goal, and saw that the rest of their House cheering like maniacs, clearly undisturbed by the cheating allowed by the rogue Bludger.

Only when both Fred and George began to circle Harry, protecting him and him alone, was she able to take a great breath of relief. Goofballs, though most people thought them, Ginny still intrinsically trusted her brothers above anyone else, and knew they wouldn't let Harry get hurt. Wood called a timeout and the three of them dived to the ground together.

"Think they'll ask for an inquiry?" Ginny heard Hermione ask Ron.

"No way, they'll have to forfeit the match if they do that. Oliver would only do that as a last resort and you know Harry would never let him," replied Ron.

Hermione looked extremely worried, but at the same time resolute. She really trusted Harry, thought Ginny. Trusted him to decide for himself if he should allow Oliver to forfeit the match or to continue to deal with the Bludger.

The timeout was over and everyone watched as Harry began to loop and roll and turn on a moment's notice to avoid the Bludger. He used his Nimbus's agility to out-maneuver it and in doing so, kept well away from the Bludger's threatening momentum. The twins were no longer guarding Harry; neither of them. Apparently, the agreed upon strategy during the timeout was to leave Harry to his own devices. At first, Ginny felt very betrayed that her brothers would concede to such a plan, but as she watched Harry out-maneuver the Bludger over and over, she realized how natural of a flier he really was.

Moves that took her months, years to master appeared to be done with no thought whatsoever. He did several loop-the-loops in a row and caused the trailing Bludger to spiral through the air. Ginny remembered the first time she had tried one of those, it had taken her months to build up the courage. She got chills the first time he waited for the Bludger's approach and then rolled right over with his broom, a move Ginny had only seen once before in her limited professional Quidditch attendances and had yet to ever try herself.

Malfoy taunted Harry again as he did a sort twirl in the air to avoid the Bludger and Harry paused. He stayed still far longer than he had at any other point in time during the game so far while staring in the direction of Malfoy and the she clapped a hand to her mouth. The Bludger was on its way back.

If Harry didn't move NOW, he was going to get hit hard. The Gryffindors around her started screaming at Harry. Everyone could see, what he couldn't see for himself at that moment. Then Ginny saw what Harry was staring at. He wasn't paused because of Malfoy. Right above Malfoy was _the Golden Snitch._

Almost in unison, the whole of Gryffindor around her was shouting "MOVE HARRY!"

But Ginny shouted with her one lone voice, "GET IT!" She knew there was no way he could hear her, knew that almost no one else could see Harry trying to figure out a way to get to the Snitch without Malfoy seeing it, knew that there was every possibility that people would later ridicule her for shouting this instead of the mantra they were all clamoring. But she also knew Harry was willing to do anything to beat Malfoy, and so chose to support his decision on the spot.

Then it happened. The Bludger finally did what it had been striving for throughout the entirety of the match. It struck Harry with a blow so forceful he went sideways over his broom and the whole stadium could hear the snap of an arm bone being broken.

Ginny covered her mouth and stopped breathing again, then everyone saw at the same time that the Bludger wasn't finished. It swerved around to attack again and Harry narrowly swung his broom around in time to miss getting struck in the face. The momentum of his broom swing propelling him forward faster than he would have done otherwise, Harry dived straight towards Malfoy. Caught off guard, Malfoy dove to the side with his broom and Ginny watched Harry close his fist around the Snitch before he hit the mud on the pitch and rolled off his Nimbus. She saw Harry look at the Snitch in his hand, before passing out completely on the ground.

It took only a few heartbeats but eventually everyone realized that the match was over and Gryffindor had won. With Harry passed out on the ground, the twins dove and repeatedly slammed the Bludger away from him, which was still trying to pelt Harry. The remainder of the House team and Ron and Hermione got to Harry first. The rest of the Gryffindors started to press a circle around Harry, waiting for him to wake up and to also help protect from the Bludger that Fred and George were still fighting.

Then Professor Lockhart strolled out onto the field. By now Fred and George had captured the Bludger and were wrestling with it, forcing it in the direction of the box where it could be locked away. All the students parted for Professor Lockhart to get to Harry, and Colin took advantage and snuck through the opening behind him to get closer.

He pulled out his camera and took a few shots of the Snitch in Harry's hand and then of Professor Lockhart standing over him. When Harry awoke, Colin took some more while Professor Lockhart and Harry spoke to each other.

" **I don't want a photo of this, Colin,"** Harry **said loudly. (** **1)** Sheepishly, Colin lowered his camera. Ginny knew he had wanted to capture the moment Professor Lockhart performed the spell to fix Harry's arm and had it been anyone but Harry, she would have encouraged Colin. To prove Professor Lockhart's ineptitude.

Ginny had a bad feeling about what was about to happen but even Ron and Hermione were quiet while Lockhart prepared his spell. He twirled his wand and a bright light shot out of it. A second later, Ginny heard Colin's camera clicking again. Harry seemed to no longer be in any pain, but when he stood up, everyone let out a gasp. His arm was just hanging there, limp and twisting in odd motions with every move Harry made.

Professor Lockhart began to make excuses and then shimmied Ron and Hermione into taking Harry up to see Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing. After they had left, the silence was shattered by a shouting in the distance.

Marcus Flint, captain of the Slytherin House team had yanked Malfoy aside and was shouting at him for losing the Snitch. Fred and George were finally able to lock away the Bludger and stopped to unabashedly eavesdrop on the telling off. Apparently Draco didn't take too well to the situation and tried to threaten taking Marcus's broom, that Draco's father had purchased, away from him, but Marcus Flint wasn't having it. He counter threatened to throw Malfoy off the team if he ever did such a thing, and told Draco he should be lucky they didn't have a reserve Seeker, otherwise he would be off the team already.

: : : : :

Back in Gryffindor Tower, Ginny sat with Colin in the common room. Some of the other first-years were nearby. Most of them were avidly discussing the first match of the year, unaware that it was out of the ordinary. The Gryffindor team came back from visiting Harry in the hospital wing and were planning a victory party in his honor.

Fred and George disappeared for a couple of hours and came back with large armloads of baked goods and sacks full of candies and drinks to pass out to everyone. George came over and handed Ginny and Colin each a butterbeer, then sat down to hang out with them. Ginny and Colin were starting to have a good time when Fred also sat down and then the twins grinned at each other.

"Ginny, sister," started George. "When did you two start dating?"

Ginny and Colin looked askance at each other and then back to the twins. "We're not," said Ginny, she could feel her face getting red. Though this time she knew it was out of anger. First, her brothers and the rest of her family assume she's in love with Harry, then Tom in the diary teases her about Harry, then Hagrid makes insinuations about Harry. Now she can't be friends with Colin and it only be friendship?

"Ginny's been the best friend anyone could ask for since I got here," said Colin. "She's stood up for me countless times." Ginny shot Colin a warning look, a reminder to not tell anyone about her fighting during class.

"Hmm," said George, putting his fingertips together in a thoughtful looking manner. Ginny knew he was just being patronizing though. Both of the twins used the same gesture on Percy and their mum countless times in the past. "They're just _friends_ ," George said to Fred.

"Interesting," said Fred. "And do you, Colin, stand up for Ginny when she needs it?"

"What?" said Colin, eyebrows furling again. He glanced over at Ginny, clearly wanting her to take the lead here against her brothers.

"He hasn't needed to," growled Ginny. She knew her brothers were just being ornery and were giving Colin and her a hard time for the fun of it. "Why are you two acting like jerks?" she countered.

This time the twins sat back a bit.

George started, "Percy wanted us to find out."

Fred added, "He finally realized who your friends were and decided we should get to know them."

"You could've just asked," Ginny said in a near snarl.

"Where's the fun in that?" said Fred grinning and getting up.

"See you around, Creevey," said George, following and patting Ginny on the head when he walked by.

"Ugh. Brothers," said Ginny.

Colin let out a small laugh and said, "I hope that's not how Dennis sees me. Where do you think they got all this stuff? This butterbeer is _really_ good."

Just then Emerson plopped down next to them with his own butterbeer. "They got the baked stuff from the kitchens. I haven't figured out where they go yet for the candies and butterbeers."

Overlooking his obvious eavesdropping, Ginny was impressed, "You followed them?" It was hard to fool the twins.

"Yeah, that's how I got lost the first time. I was following them and they disappeared before I could see where they went. Wandering around trying to find my way back was how I got caught by Filch's cat."

Ginny looked over at Colin, "One of Emerson's pastimes is learning the secrets that walls and paintings are hiding here at Hogwarts. Getting into hidden rooms and passages has become a hobby of his."

"How do you get into the kitchens?" Colin asked, eyes bright with adventure.

"Easy," said Emerson. "There's this door by the Grand Staircase down in the Entrance Hall, and through it is a hallway. There are a lot of paintings and one is a bowl of fruit. Tickle the pear and it becomes a handle. Voila, kitchens."

"We should go!" said Colin to Ginny, eyes lighting up further. "While we're out, we could visit Harry. Nobody else is."

"That's because Madam Pomfrey ordered them away. We're not allowed to visit," said Ginny.

"Then let's go after hours!"

"No, Colin, that's a worse idea."

Colin looked crestfallen at first, then resolute. "Your brothers are right. I need to start standing up for myself more. I'm going Ginny. I've played it safe all year so far. I'm going to have a bit of fun. Plus, if it were me in the hospital, I'd want someone to visit me."

"That is _not_ what my brothers said, and it's not _me_ you need to stand up to!"

"And it's not _me_ you need to protect Harry from!" Colin almost shouted. Thankfully, everyone else in the common room was still wreaking so much loud havoc over their House victory that nobody noticed two first-years having a row.

Ginny was completely thrown by that response. She didn't realize that that was how Colin felt. That she was keeping Colin away from Harry for Harry's protection. She certainly didn't feel like that was what she was doing. Was she?

"You wouldn't introduce me to him, you shrink back when I say hi to him in the halls, you won't go with me to visit him in the hospital!" Colin turned around and stalked up to his dormitory.

Ginny collapsed back into her chair. She knew she was for sure protecting Colin from getting into trouble by telling him to not wander the corridors after hours, but was she more importantly doing it because she didn't want her closest friend to antagonize Harry Potter more than what he already did every day. Shouting 'Hiya Harry' in the halls every time they passed the Gryffindor second-years and always being told off for taking pictures of Harry at inappropriate times.

Ginny had been too star-struck around Harry to talk to him properly, let alone talk at all and everyone assumed the worst because of it. That she had a little girl crush on him. Colin seemed to have the opposite problem around Harry, practically vomiting up an endless stream of words whenever he managed to get Harry's attention.

Colin's embarrassing moments were a mirror image of hers. Exactly the same but exactly opposite at the same time. Was she protecting Harry and herself more than she was protecting Colin for his own sake?

Emerson was still sitting nearby. He didn't seem phased at all over the row Ginny and Colin had just had. Instead, he tried to diffuse the tension and asked Ginny if she were going to finish Colin's butterbeer. Ginny wished he had walked away instead of Colin, though Emerson was hardly the reason they'd had a row in the first place.

She held out her own butterbeer, "Here, take them both." She hoped he got the hint and would leave her alone.

Emerson reached out for her bottle, "I don't have any brothers, or any family actually, but I do know people fight. Everyone eventually fights. Just don't abandon each other."

Ginny looked over at Emerson, _'he has a really good heart'_. She saw that he wasn't completely comfortable trying to make her feel better but that the storm you could normally see in his eyes was pushed back. Now they were more like an open field with heavy rain on the horizon.

"Thank you," she mouthed, because in that moment she didn't feel like speaking above a whisper and in the din of the party going on around them a whisper would have been pointless. Emerson nodded back and then got up to sit with Jai and Jasper and even Blake who had relaxed a bit to celebrate the Gryffindor win.

Ginny stayed in her chair.

She was angry.

She was angry at her brothers. She was angry that Colin and her had had a fight. A fight that once again centered on Harry Potter. She was still angry at Kindra for her remarks in Potions class. She was angry at the Bludger that kept trying to attack Harry. She was very angry at whoever bewitched the Bludger in the first place. She was still angry just a little bit that Ash kept getting in her way, even if she was right. She was very angry with herself for unknowingly making Colin feel the way he does. But in that exact moment, she was especially angry at one person in particular.

One person who was solely responsible for Harry currently being in the hospital, one person who subsequently was responsible for putting Colin in the position of wanting to visit Harry in the hospital, one person who forced Ginny into the position of trying to stop Colin from visiting Harry in the hospital. Not the person who bewitched the Bludger, though she desperately wanted to figure out who was behind that. Oh, no. Ginny was singularly, in that moment, furious at the one and only despicable person who has yet to be called out on and accounted for his crimes. Professor Gilderoy Lockhart.

She had been ignoring Lockhart since the first day, when Colin had gotten a double portrait of him and Harry. Mostly this was because Colin had asked her to. Colin still thought he was an amazing wizard and even though he was slowly beginning to figure out that Lockhart's classes were pointless, he was still adamant that no one could become a Professor without being good in their field first. But now Ginny had proof. Lockhart was a fraud and he'd made his last mistake.

Ginny knew she needed to sort out her feelings before making a plan to take Lockhart down, and she wanted to talk to the only person left who she felt she could confide in. Not Ron or Percy, they checked on you every ten minutes the moment you let them know you had a problem and certainly not either of the twins after their behavior tonight. No, Ginny stood up to go upstairs to her own four-poster in the girls' dormitory.

It had been far too long since she wrote to Tom in the diary. They had a lot to catch up on.

Quotes:

(1) CoS Page 172


	11. Chapter Eleven: Admittance

Chapter Eleven: Admittance

Ginny woke up tired as ever on Sunday morning. For the first time since classes started, she was the last girl awake. While she was blinking at the sunlight, which had managed to seep through the curtains of her four-poster, she heard someone walking up the stairs outside the dormitory and quietly open the door.

Takara Himura gently pulled back her curtains, "Ginny?" she said softly. "Professor McGonagall is downstairs in the common room looking for you."

Completely perplexed Ginny sat up. What could she possibly have done now to warrant a visit from their Head of House? She wondered for a moment if Rydia Nolen spread more lies to get back into Kindra's good graces.

While she sat up, she noticed that a corner of the diary was sticking out from under the covers and under the pretense of giving a sleepy stretch, she pushed it further under the blankets. Takara had backed up from the side of the bed and Ginny realized with a start that she was still wearing the clothes she'd had on the day before.

"Can you tell her I'll be down in just a minute?" Ginny pleaded.

"Of course. Change into fresh clothes. Fix your hair." Takara whisked back downstairs.

Ginny began to throw on clothes in a panic. She couldn't remember falling asleep. She couldn't remember most of her conversation with Tom in the diary the night before either. She also couldn't understand why she felt so tired. Really tired, like she hadn't slept much, and there was also the smallest of traces of mental fatigue like she'd been studying for hours. It was much later than she normally rose on the weekends and she didn't remember staying up that late the night before. She was sure she must have fallen asleep pretty early. She put on her favorite hand-me-down hooded jumper from Charlie and yanked a brush through her hair into a simple ponytail.

Bracing herself for some unknown battle where she would have to prove herself innocent, she set out down the staircase to the common room. At the door, Ginny felt like she was finally all the way awake and the slight mental fatigue she had noticed back in the dormitory lifted. Professor McGonagall was waiting next to the portrait hole and looked in her direction, "Follow me," she said curtly.

For the second time in the same weekend, Ginny found herself in Professor McGonagall's office.

"Miss Weasley, tell me when is the last time you remember seeing Mr. Creevey?"

Ginny became confused. Colin would only ever be in a few places if he weren't with her. The dark room, the common room, or his dorm room. "He's not up in Gryffindor Tower?" she asked, "He almost never goes anywhere without me."

"Precisely," said Professor McGonagall. "That's why I need to know the last place, and time, you saw him."

"Last night, in the common room. When Gryffindor was still celebrating our victory. We had a row," she admitted, "he wanted to visit Harry in the hospital wing and I didn't. He stormed off up to his dormitory and I went to mine. That's the last time I saw him. It wasn't very late into the evening. Not even past curfew yet."

Professor McGonagall eyes bored into hers, "I see. Did you leave your dormitory last night after you two separated? Before Miss Himura went to fetch you?"

"No. I think I fell asleep early. I don't even remember the other girls coming to bed. I didn't go back downstairs, I didn't want to because I didn't want to run into Colin. I didn't want him to try and talk me into going to the hospital wing again."

"Well, it appears Mr. Creevey did indeed try to check in with Mr. Potter last night. Professor Dumbledore found him in the halls and Mr. Creevey was quite lucky that he did so. Who knows how much worse the situation could have been otherwise."

Ginny's stomach dropped, "What happened?"

"There's been another attack," said Professor McGonagall gently. "Professor Dumbledore found Mr. Creevey petrified, just like Mrs. Norris. He was found between the kitchens and the hospital wing. We already determined he might have been trying to visit Potter."

Ginny started to breathe very quickly in great gasps, "Petrified? What does that even mean?" she asked. No one had seen Mrs. Norris since she had been Petrified and Ginny hadn't been among the students who found Ron, Harry, and Hermione at her crime scene.

"In short, we believe that time is standing still for the Petrified victims," said Professor McGonagall gently again. "They don't seem to age, they aren't taking food or water, they aren't mentally present at all." Changing the subject, Professor McGonagall opened a drawer and a sick acrid smell of burnt plastic filled the room, "Do you have any idea what to do with this? Professor Dumbledore pulled this from Mr. Creevey's camera last night, most of it is melted but we were hoping you or one of the boys in his dorm had been taught how to develop it and pull from it what you can."

Ginny looked up at the film roll she was holding out. "It hasn't been developed yet?" Professor McGonagall shook her head solemnly. "Then it's too late. If it was pulled out of his camera anywhere there was light, any pictures on it that were still salvageable are ruined now," Ginny said quietly. "Colin said there are almost no wizards who can fix film that's been overexposed to sunlight, or any light really."

"Professor Dumbledore seemed to think along those lines as well, we'll let him attempt to see what's on there anyway. Mr. Creevey may have taken a picture of whoever or whatever has been attacking people." Ginny nodded, though she doubted it would make a difference.

The real impact of Colin being petrified was starting to hit her. She would be attending classes without him. She would be doing her homework without him. She would spend time in the common room without him. The mandrakes wouldn't be ready until late spring, it was as though Colin up and left the school for the rest of the year with no notice whatsoever. Silent tears began to run down her face, her friend was completely helpless and there was virtually nothing Ginny could do about it.

She looked at the melted roll of film again, knowing there was very little chance of saving it but the thought gave her hope. Maybe if Colin caught a picture of his attacker it could prove it wasn't Ginny, or Harry, attacking anyone.

"Can I see him?" she asked Professor McGonagall. Then another thought crossed her mind, "Are you going to contact his dad?"

Professor McGonagall nodded, "I began drafting a letter last night, and yes tell Madam Pomfrey that I've given you permission to visit Mr. Creevey."

Ginny knew she was being dismissed, but a numbness had begun to creep over her. "Colin's dad is used to getting letters by owl," she started to ramble. "Colin sent packages of pictures home nearly every weekend. He was planning on going home for Christmas because he missed them so much."

Professor McGonagall folded her hands on her desk and gave Ginny that piercing look again, the one that seemed as though she could see right through her. "Do you have any idea who would have been targeting Mr. Creevey?" she asked. "Anyone who knew he was going out and would be alone?"

Ginny shook her head. "Unless he told someone before he left, nobody knew Colin would be out on his own tonight," Ginny said truthfully. Emerson was the only other person who had an inkling that Colin wanted to visit Harry, but after seeing the way he cared for the animals in the Livestock Lodge, Ginny refused to believe he had anything to do with the attacks and didn't want him in any further trouble.

"Very well, you may go."

"Does anyone else know yet?" Ginny asked tentatively. She wasn't looking forward to getting bombarded with questions by other students later.

"I've already told Professor Flitwick, and he will tell the other Heads of Houses, the faculty and staff, and the Head Boy and Girl. From there the news will filter down through the prefects."

Ginny nodded and then got up and started to make her way to the hospital wing. She paused and wondered for a moment if Harry would still be there when she arrived, and then decided to continue anyway. If anyone had reason to visit the hospital wing it was herself, regardless of who else was in there. She lifted her chin and very purposely pushed open the doors to the infirmary room.

All the beds except one were empty, and the one had high curtains around it keeping the bed out of everyone's view. It was fairly late in the morning, if Harry had finished healing in the night he'd probably been released already.

Madam Pomfrey bustled in and Ginny told her Professor McGonagall gave her permission to visit. At first Madam Pomfrey seemed dismayed, but after Ginny sat down next to Colin she simply nodded and quickly left the infirmary room.

Ginny looked down at Colin's face. It certainly had the expression on it that he wore when he found something interesting to photograph. His hands were in the position he used when he was holding his camera up to his eye. But the way he laid so still, it was unnerving.

It was exactly how Colin had described Mrs. Norris: stiff and dead-looking. Except his eyes. Even though they were also unmoving, they still looked very much alive. Not at all unfocused and cloudy like the lifeless bodies of birds or small rodents left behind by another small predator Ginny and her brothers sometimes came across at the Burrow. Colin's were clear and bright as ever.

Not knowing what to say to him now that she was here, Ginny did the only thing that came to mind. She apologized for their fight last night in the common room. She should have just gone on the adventure with him to the kitchens or tried harder to keep him in Gryffindor Tower. She wondered briefly, if she had gone with him, would she be lying in a bed next to him? In her gut she knew the truth though. If she had just gone with him, they would have been okay.

Silent tears began to run down her face. She reached over for his hand, and although it felt incredibly cold like a statue, she felt reassured.

She took a deep, steadying breath and slowly told Colin everything.

She told him about how she was so embarrassed all summer around Harry because he was so famous and she didn't know how to recover from it without looking like a complete dork now that they were at school together. She admitted that the longer she'd been around Harry while he was at the Burrow, the more and more she found him relatable. How Harry had never worn new clothes before starting at Hogwarts just like her and her brothers.

How polite and genuinely nice he was even though he was world famous. How surprised she was that Harry loved being at the Burrow even though she'd seen in his vault that he possessed enough money to buy it a hundred times over. But what put him over the top was how just yesterday she was in awe of him for what he was actually capable of on his Nimbus and that he didn't get on the team automatically just because he was famous.

She tried to put into words how every single person in her family did their best to protect Harry, not only for all of wizard kind like her parents initially started out doing, but because they genuinely cared for and loved him for who he was. And even though, she only really knew him from afar, she loved him too, just like they did.

She loved that he was always there for Ron, and Hermione. Always. She loved that he politely listened to Percy drone on and on about his boring work reports, he patiently answered every Muggle question her father tossed his way, and he constantly let her mother indulge him in every way possible to make up for his terrible aunt, uncle, and cousin. She especially loved that when she got nervous around him and acted awkwardly, he never once pointed it out. Never once made her feel bad for it. Never once took advantage of it for his own amusement.

Harry worked hard. He never gave up on anything he put his mind to or on anyone he thought was worth his time. He stood up for himself and for anyone he saw who needed it. He was capable of figuring out clues that masterminds left behind and continued to protect the whole world from the darkest wizard of the time.

She'd sat there for nearly an hour so far and her tears had been a quiet, constant stream; though the shock of seeing Colin Petrified was beginning to wear off. "Harry means so much to my whole family, and I love him, I do, just like the rest of my family does," she admitted out loud, "And I want to protect him just like they do. You were right." She looked down at their joined hands and gave Colin's a small squeeze. "I was protecting Harry." She lowered her voice to the barest whisper, "I was protecting him from you. And. I. Am. So. Sorry."

Ginny took a few moments to let her breathing return to normal. "You are the last person Harry needs protecting from. I just . . . I love him, just like I love you and protect you."

"Not like a brother like I keep saying though," she whispered quietly, more to herself than as a public admittance. Even with no one around to really hear her speaking, Ginny had a difficult time grasping the words she wanted to say, "It's different. The way I love him, it's . . . different." She glanced around the empty room, as though trying to find someone to tell her why it was different.

And then it clicked.

She did love Colin and Harry differently than she did her brothers and the rest of her family. With her brothers she felt secure and that she belonged with them. But with Colin, she felt safe. Colin would never betray her, never abandon her on purpose, never use her for his own belittling amusement. When she was with Colin, she felt confident. Confident enough to throw her own opinions around and know someone would be there to back her up or help her see the error of her ways without demoralizing her. He was her best friend and she loved him in that role.

But with Harry, it was still different another way. She'd always thought that the more she got to know him, the more she would be able to calm down around him. But her heart still raced when his gaze crossed hers in the common room, her breathing still intensified whenever she was standing near him.

She remembered how everything, even Colin, was drowned out during yesterday's match watching Harry take on that Bludger. She knew she'd been enamored with him at first simply because he was famous, and it stood to reason that she would give Harry family love for the way he treated her family. What clicked was that she finally realized that she did love Harry. Really loved, Harry. For who he was, regardless of everything else.

She'd heard the whispers of other girls, speculating about him. Wondering what it would be like to be with someone famous. How they in turn would become famous themselves if they could be with him. It was because of those whispers that Ginny fought against the idea of ever being with Harry right from the beginning. She didn't want to be just another one of those girls. The problem was, knowing him better made fighting it even harder, not easier, which in turn made her admire him that much more.

"I can't believe I love him, Colin." She leaned back in her chair as she heard footsteps approaching, "What am I going to do?" she whispered.

Madam Pomfrey returned and tried to take some vital signs of Colin, but other than he was unchanged she had nothing to annotate. She turned to Ginny and said, "There's nothing you can do for him now. Run along. You can visit him again another day."

Ginny reluctantly stood up. It was Sunday. A free day. She went to find the only other person who might miss Colin as much as she was going to until the mandrakes would be able to wake up both him and Mrs. Norris.

Ash was in the library. Nearly all of the teachers seemed to want to make up for not assigning much homework last weekend for Halloween, and she had all of the first-year texts and then some in piles around her. She glanced towards the library entrance and her eyes lit up when she saw Ginny, and the briefest look of confusion crossed them when she didn't see Colin trailing behind her.

"Hey, where's Colin? Where's your stuff?" she asked.

Ginny sat down next to her, knowing that some people were already aware and were straining to eavesdrop. She told Ash everything she knew about the attack.

"The Slytherin Prefects would have told you eventually," she ended. "I just came from the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey kicked me out a bit ago."

It was the first time she'd seen Ash look dumbstruck and speechless. Finally, she managed to squeak out, "Colin? But how? Why?"

"Let's go somewhere a little more private," said Ginny. They both glanced around and a number of people quickly turned their heads and looked away. Ash nodded and they packed up her books and parchment.

It was cold, but they went outside anyway. The two of them wandered aimlessly at first discussing what could have possibly Petrified Colin and Mrs. Norris, but sooner than later they ended up in front of the Livestock Lodge. To get out of the cold, Ginny led the way inside. Neither one of them had any real inclination to be there, but at the moment it felt safe away from the castle, and it was warm inside, and no other eavesdropping students would be around.

"Red, what are you doing here?" Professor Kettleburn ambled out of his office.

"We just wanted to get out of the castle. We ended up here."

His eyes flitted between them both, "Because of that boy who got attacked?" he asked gruffly.

"He was our friend," said Ash. "He was important to us," she said in a near whisper.

Professor Kettleburn glanced between them again, "Friend, you say?" They both nodded and he paused for just a moment before continuing, "Could always use some help," he looked over at Ginny, "You remember how to mix up the foal's bottle?" She nodded. "Get to it then, I'm off to help Hagrid move some of the animals over at his place back to here. Some of mine have been released and I've got room now."

Ginny looked at Ash, they could be helpful and have the place to themselves to talk with no one around to weigh in. They nodded their agreement to Professor Kettleburn, who turned and left for Hagrid's hut. Ginny showed Ash the animal infirmary area and where they were keeping the foal.

Together they mixed up a bottle and went into the little stall. Ash gave the smallest squeal of delight and Ginny showed her how to hold the bottle so he could eat while she got a shovel from the hall to muck out the bit of mess from the foal so Professor Kettleburn wouldn't have to do it later.

Then she took a deep breath, and proceeded to tell Ash everything she'd told Colin's Petrified form about Harry Potter. She felt like she'd been bursting the whole time they were in the library and out on the grounds where anyone could have heard them but she wasn't ready for anyone else to know her feelings about Harry or about the fight with Colin and she wanted Ash to know exactly why Colin had been out past curfew, alone, while she worked on cleaning the stall.

When she finished spreading out the new straw for the golden unicorn, she sat down against the wall next to Ash. The foal had fallen asleep in her lap after finishing his bottle. Ginny glanced at his wrapped leg but noticing that the bandages looked fresh she contented herself with just petting him.

"It's not your fault," said Ash quietly.

"Yes it is," replied Ginny. "I can feel it. If I had changed one thing, everything could have been different. I recklessly threw up my protective walls again and I tried to box him in. He wanted an adventure and I was too embarrassed, too confused on my own feelings, too worried about Colin, to let him make his own choices. I tried to make them for him, so that we wouldn't stand out, so that we wouldn't have any reason for anyone, especially Harry Potter, to notice us."

Ash leaned the back of her head against the wall and looked up at the ceiling, "That, is the most un-Gryffindor thing I have ever heard in my whole life."

Ginny's jaw dropped open and she jerked her gaze to look Ash right in the face. "That's your take right now? House qualities?"

"I'm just saying, embrace it. You're Gryffindors, you get in trouble for your adventures. And you sure as hell are sticking out now. Like a sore thumb. We _both_ are going to be." Ash turned her face down towards the ground now and leaned her forehead into one of her hands, like she was mentally preparing herself for the future onslaught.

"Sorry about that," said Ginny quietly, realizing Ash was right. They were both going to be speculated on the moment they got back to the castle, and those students doing the speculating would write the whole messy story to their parents who would all communicate with each other until no one knew the truth anymore.

"Don't be sorry, I knew what I signed up for the moment both of you made Gryffindor."

"About the backlash you might get from your family, I meant. Being associated with the Muggle-born who was attacked."

"Don't you worry about that either. I've been on the receiving end of their backlash for years for things I have done all on my own."

Ginny smiled. "So what do we do when we go back in there?"

"That's easy. Hold our heads up high and stick to the facts. Colin was petrified, and we are sad. That's all anyone needs to know. They're going to embroider and make up everything else anyway."

Ginny nodded. The facts. The truth. Something that should have come easily to her as an answer, but everything seemed so blurry lately. Tom in the diary had a skewed vision of the world, and he made Ginny question everything about it. He made her see reason in situations where there normally wouldn't have been any and justification in others where she knew it didn't belong.

Sitting there with Ash, content in their quiet little bubble of the foal's stall away from the rest of the world, Ginny began to mentally question her friendship with Tom in the diary for the first time since she'd started writing to him all those months ago. She also realized that for the first time, more than half the day had passed and she didn't feel an inkling of mental or emotional tiredness. Sure she was exhausted as though she hadn't gotten much sleep, but her mind felt awake. Even after crying her heart out to Colin in the hospital wing and squashing down her embarrassment and telling Ash through the butterflies in her stomach about her feelings for Harry Potter, she felt better than she had in weeks. She couldn't explain it, but she felt . . . lighter.

Out of sheer curiosity she quietly reached into her hooded-jumper front pocket and nonchalantly checked her Muggle pants pockets. All were empty. Maybe she was finally easing into the physical strength it required to carry around her giant book bag every day. Maybe this weekend was just the break she'd needed with no Quidditch to play at all. She grimaced at the thought of trudging back up to Gryffindor Tower and working on all the homework she'd neglected all weekend. She cradled her own forehead in her hands at the thought of even trying to do her mountains of homework with everyone hounding her with questions about Colin.

The next few weeks at school were the longest and loneliest Ginny had ever been in her life. She hadn't been at breakfast on the Sunday she'd visited Colin, and therefore didn't get the letter from her mum telling her off for fighting with Kindra until that Monday when the whole school was also there at the same time. Thankfully Molly didn't send a Howler, but it was still disheartening to receive the disappointment.

The following day she received another note from her mum detailing how sorry she felt for Ginny about Colin's attack. By then her mum had flip-flopped on her attitude towards Ginny defending Colin in Potions class and said she wasn't in trouble at home anymore for it. Ginny rolled her eyes just a bit. Her mum was a very emotional thinker and decision maker.

Kindra tried to point out how she knew all along Colin was going to be a target and how he practically deserved it but she was shut down fairly early on by both Blake and Ginny. All they'd had to do was stand up with a snarling look on their faces and Kindra quickly sat back down, eyeing Ginny apprehensively while doing so. It seemed Emerson had been right. After physically shoving her, Kindra didn't express her opinions openly where Ginny could reach her anymore, but she still giggled while talking behind her hands with her minions and shot superior looks at Ginny at every opportunity. It also appeared as though Rydia Nolen was back in her good graces. The solidarity with Blake, however, ended there. After Kindra had been cowed during class and in the halls, he went back to avoiding Ginny.

Seeing Ash was one of the very few bright spots of her days. Ash had also been pestered with inquiries regarding Colin but not nearly so much as Ginny, especially because the two of them regularly visited him on weekends. Eventually, as the weeks crept by, they were left alone altogether. Not just left alone though, they were pretty much avoided as though hanging out with friends of a Petrified victim might invite the attacker to go after them. They'd started working every available night together in a quiet corner in the library. Ginny had been skipping Quidditch Club, and during one memorable bright spot she had pointed out the differences of opinion of her mum's letters and how her mum used her emotions so much to drive her everyday life.

Ash just gave Ginny an incredulous look.

"What?"

"Uh, being mad at Gwendelyn for trying to make her own life better," she ticked off one finger, "fighting in Snape's classroom," she ticked off another, "and trying to make Colin make the 'right' decisions are all examples of you thinking and making decisions with your emotions my friend." She said it light-heartedly while holding up all three fingers to show Ginny.

Ginny gave Ash a friendly look of disgust, then shook it off and said, "I like school like Bill and Percy. I like Quidditch and animals like Charlie. I'm supposedly mischievous like the twins. I swear like Ron, and now I _think_ like my mother? When do I just get to be ME?" Finally saying it out loud helped in some weird way. Like she was finally acknowledging what everyone else saw instead of running away from it.

Ash said the only thing she could think of, "So, how are you like your father?"

Ginny's eyes got big and she pointed one finger at Ash, "Don't even go there!" Imagining how she was like her eccentric father had made Ginny crack a smile for the first time in days.

But the few hours she got to spend with Ash always quickly dwindled away. After he'd heard the news about Colin, Keishawn never failed to greet her with a hug every time they had class together and both him and Joshua Smith kept her sequestered away from everyone else during the double period. They also both kept asking Ginny when she would be returning to Quidditch Club, doing their best to try to ensure her that anyone would still fly with her.

Not all classes were as positive though; Ginny remained utterly alone in History of Magic and Charms. Luna usually had comforting words for her in Transfiguration, but even Maia Moran was avoiding her these days during those classes. Defense Against the Dark Arts went on like normal since Professor Lockhart focused solely on himself, and at least in Potions she had Ash.

Astronomy was terrible though. Ginny would sit quietly by herself taking notes from lecture and making notations on the diagrams she was supposed to be filling out wondering about Colin's reactions to the lessons they covered. She'd eventually taken Colin's camera from the hospital wing and convinced Emerson to find his remaining unused film canisters. To make Astronomy a little easier she began taking pictures of the night sky, aiming Colin's camera at the places they were studying just like he used to do. The pictures were meaningless to her, but the familiar clicking helped.

It was the complete fracture among the Gryffindor first-years that was the worst though. Blake Sullivan still maintained that Harry Potter must be the Heir of Slytherin, citing the fact that both he and Colin were known to have been outside of Gryffindor Tower at the same time and that Colin was constantly annoying him before being attacked. At first Charlotte Deverill and Richelle Ruiz began to back him up until Thaliana and Takara pointed out that Harry had spent the entire night re-growing all his arm bones. When would he possibly have had the time and not been in severe pain to have attacked Colin? They said this more from a logical point of view rather than taking Ginny's side. Emerson pounced on this flaw in Blake's story and the two of them nearly came to blows arguing with each other.

It wasn't until Ginny stepped in between them that Emerson backed off.

"Let him think whatever idiotic thing he wants, Em. He's going to look really stupid already once they find out who the real attacker is anyway," she said coaxingly.

"Why are you all buying into her lies? Clearly her whole family is in on it!" said Blake, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Because where I grew up, you have to know how to read people," said Emerson, walking right back up to Blake. "And if you would take one look at her," he pointed at Ginny while maintaining eye contact with Blake, "you would know she isn't lying. I've seen it since the moment she realized Colin was Petrified that she doesn't know who did it and that it scares _her_."

Emerson took a few deep breaths, " _She's_ scared and worried, can you not see that?" Finally deciding where they stood on the matter, Thaliana and Takara went to stand next to Emerson and Ginny, glaring at Blake. With the smallest of glances between themselves, Richelle and Charlotte did the same. Only Jai Misra and Jasper Greene avoided the argument. The two of them chose to stay neutral not knowing who to believe and not wanting to further fracture the Gryffindor boys.

With no one on his immediate side, Blake had stalked away. Thaliana began to organize all of them to walk in tighter groups from class to class and the other House's first-years began to do the same. Try as the Gryffindors who were on her side might, not everyone could stop the suspicions and rumors people shouted to Ginny in the halls, or the random waving of a protective device at her to keep her away like she was some sort of living bad luck charm. It seemed in one day, everyone had something that they were wearing to protect themselves from the attacker and even though most of the first-year Gryffindors didn't believe Blake's story, many other people from different years and Houses whispered similar things about Harry.

Feeling bad for the way they had acted towards Ginny and Colin the night of Colin's attack, the twins attempt at cheering Ginny up only made matters worse. They were constantly disfiguring themselves and popping out of the most random places to take her mind off her worries, and it wasn't until Percy threatened to write to their mum that they stopped. For the life of her, Ginny couldn't fathom how people thought she was anything like Fred and George when she never would have used that tactic to try to "help" someone.

The second week of December came around and Professor McGonagall sent a message for Ginny to meet her in her office again.

When she arrived, Professor McGonagall was organizing stacks of paper on her desk and shuffling a new stack together like a person does just before filing them, "Your brothers, Percy and Ron, just informed me that they are staying at Hogwarts over the Christmas holidays. I was wondering if there was a chance that you may be as well?"

Ginny shook her head, "Ron's friend Harry won't go home and Ron won't leave him behind by himself. I don't know why Percy is staying but my mum and dad are going to Egypt to visit Bill, and I was planning on going with them with the twins."

"I just spoke to the twins. They haven't decided if they were going yet or not. They may choose to stay as well."

"But, my mum and dad have tickets to travel the Muggle way, if they didn't go and Percy and Ron didn't go, it would be a waste. The twins wouldn't just not go."

"I was under the impression they were waiting to decide what _you_ were going to do."

"Why wouldn't I go?" asked Ginny. "Ash and . . ." she paused. "Ash and Colin were both planning on going home, Ash still is and . . ."

"And Mr. Creevey is unavailable to spend Christmas with?" Professor McGonagall answered diplomatically.

Ginny nodded.

"That's why I asked you here to my office," she said in a business tone. "Mr. Creevey's family is coming here for Christmas."

Ginny's eyes grew very wide. She'd never heard of Muggles coming to Hogwarts. "Dennis and Colin's dad are coming _here_?"

"Yes, they want to spend Christmas with Colin and young Mr. Creevey should not be removed from Madam Pomfrey's care. So, they have been invited to stay here for an interim."

Ginny sat back in her chair, taking in the notion of a family visiting a student for Christmas let alone a Muggle family.

"The reason I asked you to come to my office is because I thought I would give you the opportunity to stay here at Hogwarts over the holiday as well, and liaison for Young Mr. Creevey's family while they are here."

"Liaison . . . me?" Ginny was familiar with the term, hearing Thaliana and Charlotte talk about the work their parents did for the Ministry of Magic and the Muggle Ministry. Professor McGonagall wanted her to be a go-between of sorts, someone to show the Creevey's around, make sure they didn't get lost, got their meals, knew where they were going to sleep. Someone who knew the Creeveys but also was very familiar with Hogwarts and would available for the Creeveys as a point of contact should they need anything.

"Take your time to think about it. Should you choose to go home, a staff member can do the job. I just thought the Creeveys would like a chance to get to know one of Colin's closest friends here and since many of your brothers are staying, I thought I would give you the opportunity."

Ginny only took a moment, she thought briefly of missing the chance to see Bill, "I'll do it. I'll stay." She remembered her shock the first time she visited Colin and she wanted to be able to prepare the Creeveys for what they would see.

Professor McGonagall picked up a piece of parchment from one of her stacks and asked, "Miss Weasley is adding her name to the list of students staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, officially?"

"Yes."

Professor McGonagall added Ginny's name to the paper, thanked her, and said she would get more details after the holidays began before the Creeveys were due to arrive.

It had been weeks since Ginny wrote to Tom in the diary. She still carried the little leather book around in her bag with her, but since the attack and subsequent loss of seeing Colin everyday taking its own emotional toll on her, plus the mountains of homework being given in anticipation of the upcoming holidays, and adding in Ginny's most recent time consuming dedication, all coupled with the thoughts she'd had in the foal's stall, she hadn't had any desire to write to Tom.

She'd spent the past few weeks reading every bit of information about Professor Lockhart at every spare moment available. Proving he wasn't everything he said he was, gave her an unending surge of energy every time she worked on her endeavor. It almost started to seem like the only time Ginny did not feel mentally and emotionally fatigued, but rather energized, was when she was feeling angry.

In the beginning, she'd started with his source material, her Defense Against the Dark Arts texts. Then, not finding a copy in the library, she wrote home to her mum kindly asking her to send her copy of _Magical Me_ , for education purposes of course. Ginny went through each book very carefully, absorbing every detail, writing down every date, noting every name of every witness.

Ash surprised Ginny by completely approving of her vendetta. Ash had recently looked up a list of required books for Defense Against the Dark Arts for previous years and found copies of them in the library. She was thoroughly appalled that they were far more textbook-like than any of Lockhart's were. During her own free time Ash would search for local newspapers, wizard and Muggle, of the places Lockhart had visited in his works and began writing letters for copies of the prints during the time-frames the events were supposed to have happened. Ash made sure to include asking for original prints if they were available, and not reprints. The two of them weren't sure how far Lockhart's reach stretched.

When Ginny pointed out that the articles would just talk about Lockhart saving these places Ash said it was just a hunch. But if there was any way to find deviations from Lockhart's words, it was by reading other peoples'. Ash had spent her whole life up to this point training to be a curse-breaker, a job that required the ability to sift through other people's writing and relying on your gut to determine what was fact from what was myth. With her family sponsoring many expeditions looking for artifacts hundreds if not thousands of years old, gathering information on a present day famous wizard was probably a walk in the park with her connections. Ginny wasn't sure she would find anything but was happy for the help all the same.

The last week before the Christmas holiday break found the two of them glancing through some of the articles Ash had received back already, but mostly they were just whiling away time before the Dueling Club posted earlier in the week was due to start. They weren't sure if they wanted to participate, but they at least wanted to watch. Neither of them felt that they knew enough spells and as first-years they were still learning how to do wand movements and pronunciations. They planned to hang back, and if it seemed like it was magic they were capable of then they would join in.

Unfortunately, Dueling Club had been a disaster.

As soon as Professor Lockhart announced he was going to lead the club both Ginny and Ash leaned back on the table they were sitting at and folded their arms to get comfortable. Ginny was glad they hadn't decided to participate. Anything led by Lockhart was bound to be a joke, especially if it was anything like how he tried to 'fix' Harry's arm.

It went from bad to worse. Professor Snape had agreed to volunteer to help and Ginny got to witness first-hand his viciousness towards Ron, Harry, and Hermione for the first time and it enraged her. Thankfully, watching Professor Snape temporarily distracted her from the absolute ineptitude of Lockhart.

Lockhart was irritating, but Professor Snape deliberately pitted Harry against Malfoy and then afterwards bullied the boy Hermione introduced her to on the train back in September, Neville Longbottom. Everything Ron complained about Professor Snape was validated in less than a single hour of watching him torment Harry.

Then Lockhart had the _brilliant_ idea to take two students and use them as examples for everyone else. Professor Snape was coaching Malfoy and Harry was being prepped by Lockhart, but Harry didn't seem confident with the example Lockhart set.

Sure enough Malfoy had conjured a snake from thin air, and it got away from him. It had appeared like it was going to go after another student. The target was Justin Finch-Fletchy, Ginny's Muggle-born Purple team captain during the only Quidditch Scrimmage game she'd played in. Then, to everyone's bewilderment, Harry walked up to the snake and started hissing at it! As soon as Harry hissed, it had immediately stopped mid-strike towards Justin and laid down, docile and obedient as any old pet dog. Ron had yanked Harry out of the Great Hall, Hermione on their heels, and whispers burst out everywhere as soon as they had gone.

Ash leaned forward, "He's a . . ." she started to say hesitantly.

"Parselmouth," finished Ginny. It was common, but very little discussed, knowledge that Salazar Slytherin was the most famous Parselmouth in all of Britain. It was the reason Slytherin House crest had a serpent on it. Salazar Slytherin could talk to snakes, and so it seemed could Harry.

Ash looked over at Ginny, "You go to Gryffindor, I'll head to Slytherin. Tomorrow in Potions, or after classes, we'll catch each other up about what's going around in each of them okay?"

Ginny nodded. She got up and headed to Gryffindor Tower. Everyone else was leaving the Great Hall as well and she ended up following the crowd, quietly listening to pieces of conversations. By the time they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, most people were of the opinion that Parselmouth or not, Harry couldn't be the Heir of Slytherin. The few that argued all the evidence pointed to him weren't told that they were wrong either though.

She listened to a bit more of the conversations in the common room, but after they started to repeat the same circles she headed up to her dormitory. She was sure Harry wasn't the Heir, she was also sure that she wasn't the Heir herself, but conflicting evidence seemed to point at each of them.

Up in her dorm room it was quiet. Thaliana and the other girls were still downstairs. They hadn't gone to the Dueling Club and were still getting bits of the story from other older Gryffindors who'd been there. In her solitude, she wished for the first time that she and Ash had been placed in the same house so they would share a dorm.

Ginny began unpacking her bag. Tomorrow would be a light day, Potions in the morning and Charms right after, then she had the rest of the afternoon off. She pulled out all of Lockhart's books and her Transfiguration book and notes and she placed the large pile on her shelf. Charms was perpetually left in the bag as they had short lessons daily, then she grabbed her Potions book and placed it on top. She pulled out her folder with all of her returned homework for the week and emptied it so she could fill it with completed assignments over the weekend and underneath that she saw the corner of the faded diary.

She knew the other Gryffindor girls wouldn't be upstairs for quite some time, not with the news that Harry Potter was a Parselmouth flying around. She got out a quill and fluffed up her pillows and leaned against the headboard of her bed. Using her knees as a platform, she hesitantly began writing to Tom in the diary.

"Dear Tom, I had my first lesson in Dueling Club today."

It was some time before Tom in the diary wrote back. Finally, the ink began to rematerialize on the paper.

" _A Dueling Club? Why would you need to learn how to duel?"_

"People are afraid. I haven't written to you in weeks and weeks because it was just too hard to think about. My friend, the Muggle-born, Colin, was attacked. Remember when I wrote to you about Mrs. Norris?" At least Ginny thought she had written to Tom about Mrs. Norris, that was one of the things she planned on covering after deciding to write to him the night of her row with Colin in the common room.

" _Yes, as I remember it, you had some misgivings about how you ended up in your dormitory that night. You couldn't remember walking up to Gryffindor Tower."_

"Yeah, and then later that night Colin was attacked. The next morning, I woke up still wearing the same clothes I had worn the day before but I couldn't remember what I actually wrote to you about. Then my Head of House called me to her office and I found out Colin had been Petrified."

" _So, if I understand correctly, there have been two attacks, and both were only petrified?"_

"I don't remember everything we talked about, I don't even remember falling asleep. Did I get to the part of the Chamber being opened?"

" _No."_

Ginny told Tom everything about the attacks, how Mrs. Norris was found hanging next to the words painted on the wall. How she had found the same colored paint all over her uniform, about the animal hairs she was sure could have been Mrs. Norris'. She told him how her and Ash looked up the legend of the Chamber of Secrets and found out that Salazar Slytherin himself had supposedly made the chamber only openable by his very own heir.

She wrote more slowly about Colin. She confided to Tom how she felt completely at fault, how him wanting to visit Harry Potter and her doing everything she could to prevent that pushed them into a row in the middle of the common room. How she went to write to him, Tom, and Colin had run off on his own anyway.

Instead of giving any sort of consolation for losing her friend, Tom changed the subject.

" _Once more this 'famous' Harry Potter comes up."_

" _Tell me, how does one surviving their house being blown up constitute them as famous?"_

Exasperated at Tom's off topic question, Ginny wrote a quick reply, "He didn't just survive, he brought down the most feared Dark Wizard of the time, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who was at the height of his power and had gone to his house specifically to kill Harry!"

" _You never did explain who this 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' was."_

"Oh!" Ginny realized that it must be difficult to follow everyone's fascination with Harry Potter if they don't even really know what he's famous for and Harry would have defeated You-Know-Who _after_ Tom made this diary. Which meant that he didn't know anything about it.

"I forgot that I had been cut off the night I was going to tell you about You-Know-Who."

" _I'm assuming that is another false name of his?"_

"Yes, his real name is," she paused, she had never written it before. She'd only read it a handful of times; in fact, it was relatively difficult to even find a book where his name was actually written.

" _You won't ever have to write it again. I promise."_

"Okay, his name is . . . Lord —," Ginny took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "Voldemort."

When she opened her eyes the ink was already fading away. She took a few more slow deep breaths. Tom didn't write anything back. It felt as though he was almost struck speechless but Ginny couldn't be sure because he wasn't writing anything. Finally, when she was about to write out some more details of what she knew about his downfall, the moment she went to dip her quill in the inkwell a rush of rage filled her entire self until the diary slammed shut all on its own. The book shut with such force that it flipped off her lap and onto the floor where it lay still, but was unmistakably pulsing with apoplectic fury.

As soon as the book landed on the floor, the hostility Ginny had felt subsided immediately, though it lingered enough to make her question why it felt like _she_ was the one who was angry. She leaned over her bed, and stared down at the little book, the only place the swirling rage could possibly be emanating from.

She bent down and and picked it up, and instantly felt the aggression and fury heighten all over. Fighting to hold on to her own emotions and not be overcome by Tom in the diary, Ginny opened the little book and hesitantly asked, "Tom?"

" _Tell me everything about Harry Potter!"_

" _Start before he was born."_

" _Start with You-Know-Who."_

" _Start with the Dark Lord."_

Ginny felt a very slight haze in her mind. She still felt clear enough to think and to write, but it was as though she'd drank too many butterbeers: the will to say no was virtually non-existent.

She told Tom everything she grew up learning about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She wrote about how he had reigned with terror everywhere. How he had found out the Potters were going to have a baby and how he didn't want the baby to live.

She couldn't explain why You-Know-Who went after baby Harry but that many times he'd hunted down specific people for his own reasons. The Potters had taken precautions. Even Professor Dumbledore had helped. But You-Know-Who found them with his connections.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named went to their house and took the lives of Harry's parents and then he tried to take Harry's, but failed and became less than a ghost. Ginny didn't know what happened to You-Know-Who but he'd lost all of his powers and he'd fled. He fled so far he left the country. Harry grew up a famous orphan with his Muggle relatives. He never knew he was famous until he started school at Hogwarts. He was the hero the world needed and just last year he had once again defeated You-Know-Who when he tried to come back and regain a new body.

Tom in the diary was patient this time. He prodded Ginny along, urging her to remember every detail she had ever learned about You-Know-Who and Harry Potter. Somewhere in the farthest corners of her consciousness, Ginny noticed the other Gryffindor girls came up to the dormitory to go to bed, but she kept on writing. Eventually all of them fell asleep one by one, and Ginny kept on writing. It was very late into the night when the haze cleared and Ginny finally leaned back away from the little book.

The light in the eastern sky was just barely beginning to lighten, Ginny was shocked. She had been aware of time passing but she didn't realize that she'd stayed up all night writing to Tom. The last day of classes began at nine o'clock, she only had a couple of hours at most to nap before Potions class started.

She looked at the book, and with the haze gone she was able to really reflect on what just happened tonight while writing to Tom in it. Tom in the diary had so much anger earlier, that Ginny had felt it. Felt it while the diary was lying on the floor. Then after she'd picked it up, the rage in her had intensified to almost being uncontrollable. With a shock, she realized that all this time it was the diary that had been making her so emotionally and mentally exhausted.

Thinking back to that day in the Livestock Lodge talking to Ash was one of the few days she hadn't felt mentally tired and she had checked her pockets that day. She'd left the diary upstairs. The day of the Halloween feast, when she'd felt sick and tired, she hadn't meant to bring the diary to the feast. It had still been in her pocket when Takara had volunteered to help her with her books for the "inspection."

She moved to take the diary and lock it in her desk drawer, but as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she felt the diary jerk away from her again. It landed on the bed open to a random blank page. Lying ajar on its own, the haze came back in full force. It closed around Ginny and this time it was no clear box keeping her mind captive, she was completely blocked from all light and her senses. It was as though she were in a dark dungeon, where she didn't feel hungry or thirsty or tired or cold or even time passing.

She couldn't feel anything at all.


	12. Chapter 12: Christmas with the Creeveys

Chapter Twelve: Christmas with the Creeveys

It had happened again.

Ginny found herself in her dormitory staring at her darkened reflection in the window looking out over the grounds. She heard the faintest whisper in her mind, ". . . and you will forget." This time she did not panic at losing time, this time she didn't waste a single second wondering how she found herself at the window again.

This time she slammed her palms to her temples and refused to obey the whispered command. She unknowingly used every ounce of strength she'd gained over term fighting capture from a box she couldn't remember, in her effort not to forget.

"NO!" she screamed aloud. "I will NOT forget!" She took a couple of deep breaths, trying desperately to concentrate.

But it was too late. Nearly everything was gone. All that remained was the last trace of the whisper.

It was like an impossible echo heard from someone whispering to her from a mile away, ". . . and you will forget." Forget what? she asked herself.

"Ginny?"

She jumped upon hearing her name.

"Are you alright?" Takara had just entered their dorm. "I heard you shouting from the halls on my way up here."

"Just . . ." Ginny cast her eyes around the room and they landed on the books on her shelf, "just frustrated with homework."

Takara looked her up and down, "Are you okay? Where were you this morning?"

Confused, Ginny looked at her directly. Takara's voice was full of concern, but her face was clearly puzzled.

"You missed Potions and Charms . . . and your robes are covered in feathers," she answered.

Imaging robes covered in blood-red paint again, Ginny jerked open her wardrobe. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, but this time it was only feathers.

She released a mental sigh. "I . . ." she had been about to say 'I don't know' but decided against it. "I wasn't feeling very well, I've just been so tired lately." She pulled out a new set of robes to wear. "Did you come looking for me?" Ginny tried to sound casual.

"Staying up most of the night writing probably doesn't help," admonished Takara. "The prefects are doing a head count. There's been another attack, a double attack."

Ginny whipped around, "What? A _double_ attack?"

"A Hufflepuff second-year, Justin Finch-Fletchy, and Nearly-Headless Nick. Everyone in the common room are asking each other if anyone knows his blood status—"

"He's Muggle-born," said Ginny immediately. "I heard him say so at Quidditch Scrimmage."

Takara just nodded as Ginny confirmed what all the Gryffindors had been speculating. "I'll tell Thaliana you're up here," and then she headed downstairs again.

Ginny yanked off her robes and changed into a fresh set. She spread out her feather covered robes on her bed and mentally prepared herself for a spell she'd seen her mother do a thousand times and had practiced the movements for herself many mornings at the Burrow.

"Like you mean it," she whispered to herself, remembering the conversation with her mother in Diagon Alley.

" _SCOURGIFY!_ " She kept pushing the magic until every fiber from the feathers lifted from the cloth material and disappeared.

Still alone in her dorm, she peeked into the stair case and listened for anyone who might be coming up them, then she quickly crossed to her wardrobe once more and pulled out the red stained robes from Halloween.

Back then, she had still been learning and mastering quite a bit about magical theory. Bolstered by her success of de-feathering the first set of robes, Ginny spread out the long-since dried red-stained set.

This time she took only a moment to center herself. " _SCOURGIFY!_ "

The feathers from this uniform lifted almost effortlessly this time. It was the red paint that gave her trouble. Try as she might, she couldn't get the stains to lift from the cloth.

At least the feathers are off, she thought to herself. She stowed the still red stained robes away again, this time into a buried corner in her trunk.

She vaguely remembered staying up all night writing to Tom in the diary, as Takara had mentioned. She couldn't remember in detail what they talked about although Harry Potter floated to mind. She couldn't remember falling asleep and obviously, she hadn't gone to her morning classes.

No, it seemed she'd lost time again, just like Halloween night; the night Mrs. Norris was petrified and the first time she'd found her robes covered in red paint and feathers. The nasty thought she'd tried to keep from entering her mind crept back: What if she was the attacker?

She couldn't remember losing time during Colin's attack though. She couldn't remember falling asleep either come to think of it, and she had woken up in her clothes from the day before. But who ever remembers falling asleep? Ginny grew more nervous and took a moment to calm herself.

In her right mind, she would never hurt a cat, no matter how hateful. She would never hurt Colin, and she had zero reason to hurt either Justin or Nearly-Headless Nick. If she were the attacker there was only one explanation. She must be going mental!

NO! She refused to let herself believe it. She was stronger than this. She had to be. She was going to figure this out for Colin's sake. Whether it turned out she was the attacker or not, she would not let him wake up to a world where Muggle-borns were still in danger from Slytherin's Monster.

With a new determination, she re-opened her wardrobe and checked her appearance in the mirror. Satisfied that she appeared normal, she went downstairs to the common room. Right away, both Thaliana and Percy flicked their gaze to her, each confirming her head count. She quietly sat down at the study table with the other Gryffindors in her year. Thaliana and Takara were discussing Justin Finch-Fletchy's now confirmed blood status and what could possibly have petrified a ghost.

Richelle and Charlotte were eavesdropping on the boys nearby. Emerson and Blake were having a heated argument about Harry Potter being the Heir of Slytherin again. Emerson still maintained that Harry was innocent until proven otherwise, even though he said it was true some Hufflepuffs found Harry alone with the new victims.

"Harry was found with the victims _again_?" Ginny whispered to Richelle and Charlotte. They nodded in unison.

"I heard he was taken straight to Dumbledore's office by Professor McGonagall," Charlotte whispered back.

Richelle leaned in quietly, "Blake says that finding Harry at one scene can be a coincidence, but twice? Not possible. What if he's right and Harry Potter _is_ the Heir?"

"Because he was in the hospital when Colin was attacked!" replied Ginny.

"Oh, yeah," said Richelle.

"Except Harry is the only other known student who was out of his dormitory the night Colin was attacked," said Charlotte. Richelle's eyes grew round with the implication.

"Now you're just repeating Blake's words," retorted Ginny.

"It's not just Blake saying it anymore," said Richelle, "I heard almost everyone whispering the same thing in the corridors before they sent us all back to our common rooms."

"I've seen this a lot in my parents' line of work," said Charlotte confidently. "You watch, by this time tomorrow, everyone is going to be sure Harry is the Heir. Whether it's true or not."

: : : : :

Unfortunately, Charlotte turned out to be completely right.

The double attack on Justin Finch-Fletchy and Nearly-Headless Nick had all the students practically making a beeline for the Hogwarts Express just a few days later.

Ash had been writing home back and forth with her mother about staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, but it was to no avail. On the Sunday before the train was due to depart, she received a note from a very handsome Eagle-Owl, her father's owl, putting his foot down and expressing that if she didn't accompany her brother, Dax, home for the holiday that he would personally come to Hogwarts to pick her up.

Miserable, Ash packed her trunk. She still didn't know which people her parents wanted her to meet, but as excited as they seemed to be it couldn't be about anything that would be exciting for _her_. Ash would have preferred meeting Colin's family and playing liaison with Ginny. Try as she might to show her parents the opportunity this presented, it only made them more insistent for her to return home.

The twenty-first of December found Ash and Ginny saying their good-byes in the Courtyard.

"I don't like leaving you here, practically alone, while most of the school leaves. That increases your chances of becoming the next victim," said Ash irritably.

"If the stories are true, I'll be safe because I'm a pure-blood," replied Ginny. She hadn't confided in Ash her worries that she was safe because she may be the attacker herself.

"We don't know what's true and what's legend," said Ash, but they'd had this discussion almost daily since the double attack and Ash had already agreed to follow her parents' wishes and go home. "Read through those articles I left for you. I know we'll find something to start with about Lockhart there." She was still sure her hunch would pay off to find out the truth about Lockhart.

Ginny nodded, the Creeveys were arriving later that afternoon and Professor McGonagall had asked Ginny to make a list of all of Colin's favorite places around the castle to show Dennis and Mr. Creevey. She was only due to entertain them for a few hours a day for the five days they would be staying. She would have plenty of time to comb the articles in the newspapers and cross reference them with her notes on Lockhart.

" _Ashantae!_ Let's go!" the booming voice of Ash's older brother made several students in the vicinity jump.

Ash just rolled her eyes. "I'll be there in a second, _Dakarai!_ " she hollered back.

Dax walked over and plucked the handle of her school trunk from her hands, "Dad said I'm supposed to make sure you get on the train." Then he glanced at Ginny with a slight sneer for a heartbeat before dragging away Ash's trunk.

"I gotta go," said Ash, "Now I'm going to be in trouble for 'holding up the whole Hogwarts Express' or something extreme like that."

Ginny nodded in response.

She glanced in Dax's direction with the utmost distaste while he laughed and snickered about something with his sixth year friends. When she turned back to Ash, she watched as her friend took a deep breath and closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. When she opened them again she squared her shoulders and her eyes had become hard. Ginny hadn't realized that Ash's normal demeanor had subtlety changed bit by bit every day. Gone was her now usual easy smile and her eagerness to share knowledge. Standing in front of Ginny was a girl with an expression and a posture she didn't recognize. A girl who would blend in with her parents' expectations.

Ash abruptly turned and walked to the carriages that were taking students to the train. Before she boarded though, she turned to Ginny and shouted, "I'll see you in a couple of weeks!"

Ginny managed a small smile, wondering which version of her friend would return, she shouted, "OKAY!" back. Ash's carriage began to pull away and Ginny watched a few more students board their own.

"Wait!" Behind her, she heard Emerson calling to one of the carriages that hadn't left yet.

Ginny walked over to help him heave his trunk up the steps. "I thought you didn't have. . ." she almost said 'any family to go home to' but recovered and instead said, "I thought you were staying?" With Colin petrified and Ash going home for the break, Emerson was the last person hanging around Hogwarts that Ginny could talk to comfortably. Sure, all her brothers were staying, but Ron was going to have Harry and Hermione occupying him, the twins had each other, and she'd already heard Percy relentlessly saying he was going to be busy.

Outside of Colin's family visiting it appeared those newspapers were going to be her only other distraction for what looked like was going to be a quiet Christmas.

"Tai Zhang invited me to stay with his family," said Emerson.

Ginny looked taken aback. Tai was a Hufflepuff. Emerson must have noticed her stare.

"I've been in his Herbology group all year," he said. "He invited me weeks ago, but I only just decided."

"Oh. That was nice of him." Ginny had been so focused on her own friendships during classes she'd never paid any attention to any of her fellow Gryffindors who'd made friends from other Houses too.

Emerson glanced around at the rest of the students getting into carriages, "I'm not leaving you by yourself am I?"

Ginny managed a grimace and shook her head, "All my brothers are staying too."

"I thought that's what I'd heard—"

"Have a good holiday," Ginny cut him off much like she'd done to Percy the previous summer. She hadn't exactly looked forward to Emerson staying, but with him leaving she would be the _only_ first-year staying behind. Regardless, she didn't want him to miss out on a real family home during the holidays and definitely didn't want him to change his mind and stay on her account.

Emerson didn't miss her abrupt change in tone. "Are you sure? I can stay. I mean . . ." he looked past Ginny, to a corner of the castle beyond which would have been the Livestock Lodge.

"I will keep checking on the foal, if anything goes wrong I'll send you an owl straightaway. Go. Have a good Christmas." She said that last bit with the brightest smile she could muster. Emerson didn't look convinced.

Colin's words from their first Potions class came back to her again, _"Emerson didn't grow up with a very good life before coming to Hogwarts. . ."_

"You can trust me. I promise."

Emerson lifted his grey eyes to hers, she held his gaze knowing he was wondering if she was just another person in his life full of empty promises. Finally, he broke the silence, "I got more of those berries. I put them on Professor Kettleburn's desk. He should find them, but just in case. . ."

"It'll be alright," Tai said confidently, "I got a good feeling."

"I got it," said Ginny. She backed away from the carriage and a moment later it began to roll away. Tai looked back and cheerfully waved a goodbye.

"Miss Weasley." Professor McGonagall finished seeing off the students and approached Ginny. "The Creeveys should be arriving in Hogsmeade any time now and be up to the castle within the hour. I've got Hagrid meeting them at Madam Rosmerta's and he'll escort them to the castle. If you follow me, I'll show you the kitchens."

Ginny followed Professor McGonagall through a door near the Grand Staircase and down a flight of stairs. They entered a corridor where every painting depicted food.

Somewhere along the middle of the hall, they stopped beside a painting of a bowl of fruit. Professor McGonagall raised her hand and at the same time she flicked her gaze at a set of barrels at the opposite end of the corridor from the Grand Staircase entrance.

Curious, Ginny glanced over as well, but other than the stacked barrels, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Professor McGonagall reached out and scratched the pear in the painting. A moment later, a handle emerged from it. One easy pull and the entrance to the kitchens was revealed.

Ginny peeked through the door before following Professor McGonagall inside. It was spacious and warm. There were huge fireplaces where many house elves were already cooking dinner for the staff and students staying behind for the holiday.

She also noticed four long tables identical to those in the Great Hall. She looked up and realized that they were actually positioned exactly beneath the four tables the different Houses sat at in the Great Hall. Even now, Ginny could see house elves removing dishes for cleaning from the breakfast prepared earlier.

Professor McGonagall patiently waited for one house elf in particular to greet them. In almost no time she appeared.

"Nandy?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Yes, Deputy Headmistress," the house elf nodded in confirmation and gave a short curtsy. Nandy was small like all the other house elves in the kitchen, had large eyes and ears, and she was wearing what looked like a toga with the Hogwarts crest on it.

Professor McGonagall turned to Ginny, "This is Nandy. She's in charge of kitchen duties and has agreed to accommodate Colin and Justin's families so they will not have to traipse the castle for meals." She turned to back to the house elf, "Nandy, Miss Weasley here is going to liaison for the Creeveys during their stay. She'll come when they rise for breakfast, need lunch and dinner, and need their room attended to during their stay."

At the mention of 'Miss Weasley' however, it seemed that every house elf not only paused in their work, but shifted their attention from Professor McGonagall to Ginny.

Nandy stared too. She politely waited until Professor McGonagall finished speaking before asking, "Miss . . . Miss _Weasley_?" Her eyes were much larger now than they were when she first approached them and Ginny couldn't tell if it was amazement or apprehension or a little bit of both that made them widen that way.

"Yes," replied Professor McGonagall rather curtly.

Nandy seemed to remember that they were discussing the Creeveys and gave her head a slight shake, making her ears flap a bit before going back to a professional manner, "Very well," though she still eyed Ginny with curiosity. Nandy seemed to realize the entire kitchen was at a standstill, she turned around, "Back to work!" she snapped loudly to all the other house elves who were still staring. There was a flurry of movement as they jumped back into their duties.

"Have you chosen a house elf for Miss Weasley to collaborate with when she is in need for the Creeveys?" asked Professor McGonagall.

Nandy flicked her gaze back to Ginny for the briefest of seconds before declaring, "Nandy will attend to the Creeveys herself during their stay. If that suits Deputy Headmistress." Nandy bowed her head in deference to Professor McGonagall.

"As you wish, so long as it doesn't interfere with your leadership duties in the kitchens," replied Professor McGonagall.

"It will not interfere, Deputy Headmistress," said Nandy, with one last puzzling glance at Ginny.

Professor McGonagall motioned for Ginny to follow her back through the painting out into the corridor again. They headed back to the Entrance Hall where Hagrid was opening the main doors and stepping into the castle behind him were two familiar faces.

Little Dennis's eyes lit up when he spotted Ginny and she gave him a small smile and a nod of recognition. Professor McGonagall introduced herself to Mr. Creevey, thanked Hagrid for bringing them to the castle, and then led Ginny and Colin's family to the rooms the Creeveys would be staying in until Christmas Day.

Professor McGonagall attempted to explain Colin's condition in depth but Ginny could tell neither Mr. Creevey nor Dennis were able to keep up with some of the magical terms. They both however, broke into smiles upon hearing the plan to awaken Colin and the rest of the victims once the Mandrakes had fully matured.

They stopped in front of a door in a corridor near the hospital wing, and Professor McGonagall opened it for everyone to enter so the Creeveys could drop off their luggage. The rooms were spacious and inviting, like Ginny's dorm room, but were set up differently, more home like. With separate spaces for sleeping almost like bedrooms and another room off the main entrance room for dining.

Professor McGonagall addressed Mr. Creevey, "I should warn you, the first time seeing a Petrified person can be a bit shocking. Perhaps, just the father first?"

Dennis sat down on the small couch in the entrance room as Professor McGonagall took Colin's dad to the infirmary. "Have you seen Colin since . . . it happened?"

Ginny nodded, "Ash and I visit him every weekend. It takes a while to get used to seeing him that way."

"Is Ash here too?"

"She wanted to be, but her parents wanted her to come home for Christmas."

"I wish I could go to school here."

"Do you go to regular primary school?" Ginny asked.

Dennis nodded, "The same one Colin went to."

"I wish I could've went to primary school," said Ginny. When Dennis gave her a questioning look she added, "Most wizard kids who grow up with wizard parents are home schooled."

Little Dennis raised his eyebrows, "Who teaches you?"

"Our parents usually, my mum in my family." Ginny almost asked why their mum didn't come for Christmas, but bit back her words at the last second.

In his youthful innocence, Dennis volunteered the answer to the question that was always asked of his family anyway.

"Our mom died a long time ago. She got sick."

"That happened to a friend of mine here too," said Ginny, thinking about Luna. That wasn't exactly true, but Ginny didn't want Little Dennis telling his dad a fully qualified witch died experimenting with magic. He could still pull Colin out of Hogwarts if he wanted. Then she immediately felt ashamed of herself. Concealing unflattering truths was Tom in the diary's influence.

Both Ginny and Dennis turned their heads towards the door when they heard Mr. Creevey's voice, "What about his education? He'll have missed most of the year by the time he's cured."

They heard Professor McGonagall's voice answer as their echoing footsteps grew closer, "Professor Dumbledore and myself have been working on a plan. He's going to be exempted from end of the year exams and we hope to finalize the last few details while you are here during your stay."

They came through the door and Mr. Creevey looked at a loss. "I'm trusting your people to know what's best. I'm all they have," he glanced at Dennis.

"They have all of us. Nobody here wants either student to fall behind for something they had no control over," reassured Professor McGonagall.

"And still, nobody knows what's causing these attacks?" asked Mr. Creevey. "You have magic!"

"The attacker has magic as well," said Professor McGonagall gently with a meaningful look towards Little Dennis and Ginny.

Mr. Creevey dropped the subject.

"Good day, Mr. Creevey, Dennis." Professor McGonagall nodded at both of them before shooing Ginny out the door in front of her.

"Mr. Creevey is taking Dennis to see Colin and then he asked that they be left alone to settle in for the rest of the night. Check on them in the morning and once they are awake alert the kitchens for their breakfast but head there now and inform Nandy to ready dinner but not to intrude."

"Yes, ma'am," Ginny nodded, stepping up to the tasks set before her.

: : : : :

The next four days it became Ginny's routine to wake at her normal early hour. She dressed in her Muggle clothes to appear normal to Dennis and Mr. Creevey, then headed to their rooms where she would find Dennis just waking up. She'd promise to return shortly, and then headed to the kitchens to tell Nandy the Creeveys were ready breakfast. Nandy and a small contingent of other house elves apparated a table of food already prepared to the Creeveys small dining room.

After breakfast, Ginny would take them to a new part of the castle on a tour. She showed them different classrooms they used as first-years. So far she'd shown them the Astronomy Tower, the Potions Dungeon, their Transfiguration and Charms rooms, and a brief visit to the Owlery. However, Professor McGonagall advised against showing them the greenhouses as some of the plants had minds of their own around Muggles.

After the morning tour, they would lunch together and then the Creeveys would go visit Colin while Ginny would go out to the Livestock Lodge to check on the foal for Emerson. She spent her evenings at dinner in the Great Hall and hanging out in the common room with the twins playing exploding snap.

The first day she sat with the foal, she carried down her bag full of the newspapers given to her by Ash but only glanced through them half-heartedly and soon decided to set the project aside until after the Creeveys had gone back home so she could focus on them and plan their tours. She instead attempted to go through the reading material for her homework essays she was supposed to accomplish over the holidays and eventually completely forgot about the newspapers.

On the morning of Christmas Day, Ginny awoke to a quiet Gryffindor Tower. She opened the presents at the foot of her bed.

From her mum, she received her annual Weasley sweater, dark forest green, not only one of her favorite colors but a contrast to her vivid red hair.

From Fred and George, she received a package of dung bombs and a note that said for Christmas they decided to rescind her debt of owing them for the match they had given her all the way back at the beginning of the school year. Which was a real shame because they'd had excellent plans over the summer, but they hoped this would make up for their teasing her and Colin the night before his attack.

By now it felt like a lifetime ago that Ginny and Colin were writing home for the first time after their first week at Hogwarts. They'd talked about the dangers of knowing Harry Potter and what it took to protect him every day. Colin had shown his solidarity right from the get go and burned the film he'd used to take pictures of Harry's owl, Hedwig.

So much had changed in just those few months.

Back then, Ginny was acting on instinct. Back then, tales of You-Know-Who's exploits were just that, tales. Harry's defeat of him was accepted history. Harry's adventures with her brother and Hermione last year were just adventure stories.

Now however, the Heir of Slytherin was at Hogwarts and his monster was loose. It was real. She understood. Little by little every day, her understanding of her parents' urgency to protect Harry had become real. She was no longer acting on instinct but from now on she promised herself to actively follow in their footsteps. Search for the clues and stop what's coming ahead of time if she were able.

Her resolution made her feel stronger.

She got the usual boring book from Percy, a new insect encased in amber which she'd always found revoltingly funny from Bill, and a necklace from Charlie. His letter stated it was a tooth from the very dragon that had wanted to eat her last Christmas. She laughed at that at first before a small shiver ran down her spine from the memory.

Ash had found a beautiful bound leather book and a very expensive quill set with ink enchanted to last forever. Ginny opened the book and found all the pages were blank and made of heavy paper. Curious she flipped it over and saw "G. M. Weasley" embossed in gold on the back.

She looked at the note Ash had written on plain paper and had stuck in the book. _"For your poetry. P.S. I'm trying my best to come back early! You won't believe who they wanted me to meet!"_

Ash was talking about the mysterious people her parents insisted on her coming home to introduce her to over break of course. Ginny crossed her fingers and hoped that it had turned out to be a good surprise, but seeing as how Ash was trying to come back early she guessed that this wasn't the case.

Ginny looked at the book and quill set again. For just a moment she felt a pang of guilt that this present was much more expensive than the one she'd given Ash.

Ginny had snuck up to the boys' dormitory right after the holidays had started and knowing that the first-year boys' dorm would be completely empty, she'd found and leafed through all the pictures Colin had taken of the three of them working in the library together.

There were lots of pictures of just Ash, and just Ginny. Tons of the two of them, and a bunch of slightly off center and just out of focus pictures of Colin, Colin and Ash, and Colin and Ginny from when one of the girls had picked up his camera and snapped some pictures of their own of him.

Ginny had taken these pictures and put them into a book for Ash. At the very end was a single photo of all three of them together. Colin had just mastered an air charm and clicked the picture with all three of them from a distance with a flick of his wand. It was the only photo of all of them. In the picture, you could see Colin performing the spell over and over again while Ginny and Ash laughed on either side of him for being so excited to have mastered the charm.

That wasn't Ginny's favorite photo though. She'd found her favorite photo in a stack of pictures she'd never seen before. They had been taken during her one and only Quidditch Scrimmage game. Colin had developed this one in a magical potion so it also moved.

It began following Ginny in the air, she was tearing after Megan and Mandy on her old slow school broom and the three Chasers had been charging towards the goal posts. The Quaffle, thrown by Mandy, was blocked poorly and Ginny dove down, retrieved it, and sent it flying towards another hoop. Colin had captured her first goal on film. But that wasn't her favorite part, because that goal score had become a blur in the background.

The focus during the picture had changed from Ginny flying, to Ash's face watching her flight with suspenseful intensity. You could see her heart drop when the first goal attempt had been blocked, then changing to eager surprise after Ginny caught the dropped ball and zoomed up for her team's second shot. Then the silent scream Ash had let out when Ginny scored.

But the best part was still to come. The best part of the picture, at least in Ginny's opinion, was when Ash had turned around to share the moment with Colin and ended up looking at his camera square in the face. Her smile was ecstatic, her eyes were bright with celebration, and it was proof to Ginny that Ash was genuinely Colin's friend and didn't hang out with him because they both happened to be close to Ginny.

She'd hoped Ash liked the photo album. A little reminder of life at Hogwarts where she can be free to be herself.

Ginny got dressed and after a quick peek to see if Hermione was in her dorm, went downstairs to the common room. Hermione's dorm room had been empty, so expecting to see the trio downstairs she was puzzled to find only the twins. She wondered if maybe they went down for an early breakfast even though there was an early dinner feast planned.

Curious as she was about the whereabouts of the trio this early in the morning, she put them out of her mind to focus on her task.

The path down to the kitchens was very familiar by now and when Ginny pulled open the painting to reveal the entrance she was overwhelmed by scents of the Christmas feast for everyone who chose to remain at Hogwarts for break.

As she stepped through the painting, she received the usual short pause as all of the house elves momentarily halted in their duties before remembering themselves and going back about their tasks.

She patiently waited for Nandy to come from one of the back rooms, but was instead greeted by a different, seemingly younger house elf.

"Miss Weasley, my kin-elf will be available shortly, she's still seeing to some last-minute Christmas Dinner arrangements."

Ginny immediately recognized that this house elf spoke differently than the others. She used what her mum termed proper adult language.

"NANDY!"

Ginny jumped when she heard the lead kitchen house elf chastise the younger one speaking to her.

"You is suppose to be on watch duty! Back to your station! Off with you!"

Ginny needed to backtrack a moment, "Wait, you're both named Nandy?"

The older house elf who'd been Ginny's kitchen contact for the last few days widened her eyes so that they looked like they were about to pop out of her head.

"'Tis . . . 'tis a great honor to be named after Nandy the Lost. Many of our kin-elves carry the honor."

"Nandy the Lost?" Ginny was intrigued. There was a story here, hiding in the kitchens of Hogwarts. "Who's Nandy the Lost? What's a kin-elf?"

The younger Nandy was still standing there, her eyes also bulging, clearly this wasn't a topic discussed.

"Wizards would call young Nandy, Nandy's niece," she first indicated the younger Nandy and then herself as she explained the two elves' relationship.

The elder Nandy shooed the younger house elf away and then turned back to Ginny, "Now is not the appropriate time for such a story, Miss Weasley. There is much work to be done."

Ginny realized she was right, the Creeveys needed looked after and she had a Christmas surprise in store for Dennis.

"Will the Misters Creeveys be dining in the Great Hall or their private rooms again?" asked the elder Nandy.

"Their private rooms for breakfast and lunching with the Finch-Fletchy's later. Both families will be going home after lunch today." Ginny knew both families were also going to get Professor McGonagall's education plan so the boys wouldn't be held back for missing most of the year.

"Nandy will see to it," said the house elf, indicating herself.

Ginny gave one last glance towards the door the younger Nandy had disappeared through before going back through the painting to the corridor outside and began to wonder just how many secrets Hogwarts Castle was keeping.

She was heading up to the wing where the Creeveys were staying to wake them for breakfast if Little Dennis hadn't already woken early for presents.

Her footsteps echoed in the empty corridor and the quiet halls made it easy to hear the angry voices coming from a room near the Creeveys'. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T FULLY WORKED OUT A PLAN? HAVEN'T YOU BEEN WORKING ON THIS SINCE THE OTHER BOY WAS ATTACKED?"

Ginny paused in the corridor listening to the argument going on around the corner.

She heard Professor Sprout's kindly voice, "Young Mr. Creevey is in a different year than your son, Mr. Finch-Fletchy. Justin is much more advanced in his magical education and therefore will have more specific requirements to achieve to catch up to the rest of his classmates."

"You're keeping staff for the other boy! Just add Justin to their roster!"

"We only have a couple of teachers to tutor young Mr. Creevey. They will be doing the basics in multiple subjects for first-years. Second-years require teachers with more than just general subject knowledge."

Ginny chanced peeking around the corner. A man and a woman who both kind of looked like Ginny's Purple Team captain during her only Quidditch Scrimmage were standing in front of Professor Sprout, Justin's Head of House.

Justin's father shook his head and not so quietly muttered, "He should have gone to Eton after all. This never would have happened there."

Professor Sprout drew herself up to her tallest self, "No, he should not have. To live a non-magical life when you are magical yourself brings only a life of misery!"

Ginny watched Professor Sprout take a step closer to Mr. Finch-Fletchy, "Petrified or otherwise, Justin is exactly where he belongs. He is one of _my_ students and even if it takes the might of the entire House of Hufflepuff we will make sure Justin catches up to his classmates because pulling together is the heart of being Hufflepuff!"

"Ginny?"

She jumped. Little Dennis was standing behind her and had whispered her name.

"Dennis!" Ginny hissed. She beckoned him away, back towards the set of rooms he shared with his father.

"What's Hufflepuff?" Dennis whispered, as they crept beyond the corridor leading to the Finch-Fletchys' rooms. Professor Sprout's and Justin's parents' voices getting considerably quieter as they passed by.

"It's another house, like how Colin and I are in Gryffindor. Justin is a Hufflepuff," replied Ginny, trying to herd Dennis along.

"Is that Hufflepuff teacher mean?"

"What? No. I've never seen Professor Sprout like that, she's usually happy and nice. Dennis, why were you out here anyway?"

"You were late, I went looking for you, but I got lost. Some of the paintings pointed me in the right direction though. Then I found you."

"Sorry, I was opening presents."

"Me too!" said Dennis. "We have something for you, Dad and I! It's in our room!"

"Oh," said Ginny. She hadn't expected anything from Colin's family.

When they arrived in the Creeveys' room, breakfast had already been set up by Nandy and Mr. Creevey was sitting at the table reading a newspaper. Ginny didn't think anything of this scene at first until she saw one of the pictures move.

Mr. Creevey put down his paper at the same time Ginny's eyes widened.

"I hope it's alright. I usually read my own papers at home and these looked interesting, even if they are very old," said Mr. Creevey with a sheepish expression.

"Um," Ginny thought quickly, but couldn't come up with a single reason as to why a Muggle who was already under the International Statue of Secrecy couldn't read published wizarding newspapers. "Yeah, I . . . I think it's okay."

Mr. Creevey indicated the bag of newspapers she must have left in their room days before, "I already read all of them in fact. Some of them seem normal, but others are plainly from your world! Are they for school?"

Ginny hesitated, "Sort of, I'm looking for outside references to Professor Lockhart's book material."

"Colin never mentioned how studious you are!" Mr. Creevey looked surprised.

Ginny thought about Ash and Hermione, "I'm not really, I'm just working on a project."

"That's the teacher Colin was looking forward to meeting most, Dad!" Dennis piped up.

"Yes, I remember now. He saved villages and such? Right?"

Ginny nodded her head, she wasn't about to explode her vendetta against Professor Lockhart to Colin's Muggle family. She looked at the front of the paper, "This one is from Australia and it should have covered his defeat of the Wagga Wagga Werewolf." She sat down to start breakfast with them.

A puzzled look crossed Mr. Creevey's face. "This doesn't mention a Lockhart at all though." He perused the story again.

"Oh, maybe that's not the right day . . ." said Ginny, now puzzled herself.

"No, it is." Mr. Creevey checked the front again, "See here, it says a Mr. Walker defeated the werewolf. It even has his picture."

Ginny jumped up from her chair, "That can't be right." There it was though, a man clearly not Professor Lockhart was blinking in the photograph.

"Didn't you say you were searching all of these for references to your teacher?" asked Mr. Creevey. "Are you sure you have the right dates? None of these papers mention a Lockhart at all."

Ginny sat back down in her chair, "They don't? . . . You read them all?"

Mr. Creevey looked slightly abashed, "Well, they were there and I'm sure mine at home are piling up . . . and some of the stories were really amazing." He stopped rambling when he noticed Ginny was still staring at the pile of papers utterly bewildered.

"He wasn't mentioned anywhere?" asked Ginny.

Mr. Creevey slowly shook his head, "Not even in the classifieds, which I must say are quite extraordinary!"

Ginny must have given Mr. Creevey a funny look because he immediately stopped his exuberance over the classifieds.

"I'm sorry, it's all just fascinating."

"It's okay," said Ginny, going back to her breakfast. "My dad is the same way about Muggle things."

"Dad, can I give Ginny her present?" asked Dennis, who had long since finished his breakfast. Not waiting for an answer, he ran and pulled a wrapped package from one of their trunks. It felt similar to the packaging Ginny's mum did when she wrapped her annual Weasley sweater.

She pulled off the wrapping and sure enough, out fell a red hooded jumper. It was much too big but Ginny held it up to herself anyway. It was a deep bold scarlet red that wouldn't clash with her dark red hair like most bright reds tended to. The hood and inside the pocket on the front were lined in a russet gold and there was a leaping attacking lion on the front upper left side for Gryffindor.

"Look at the back!" said Dennis excitedly.

Ginny turned the jumper around and saw in the same russet gold coloring was WEASLEY sewn in individual bold letters across the middle of the back.

"I'm sorry that we got it quite a few sizes too large, but we wanted you to be able to grow into it," explained Mr. Creevey, ". . . or you could just do that."

Ginny had pulled out her wand and tapped the jumper, " _Reducio!_ " She focused on shrinking it until it was the size of the one she currently had on, the hand-me-down from Charlie.

"I can make it bigger again later," said Ginny, smiling at the Creeveys. "I have a present for you too. We should have enough time before your lunch with the Finch-Fletchys."

Dennis made a face at the prospect of lunch with the Finch-Fletchys but otherwise seemed excited when Ginny told them to put on their winter cloaks and to meet her in the Entrance Hall. She grabbed the newspapers, shoved them into her bag and rushed to Gryffindor Tower for her own cloak, left her bookbag behind in her dorm, and caught up with them just as they were coming from their corridor.

"It's not snowing right now, and I got Professor McGonagall's permission to take you out onto the grounds." They went out the main doors, "Um, Colin has never been where we're going actually. That's why I haven't taken you on a tour here before."

Around the castle they walked, following the trail Ginny, and no doubt Professor Sprout, re-blazed every day on their way to the greenhouses and Livestock Lodge. Ginny pointed out the lake, even though it was currently frozen over, the Forbidden Forest at the edge of the grounds, Hagrid's cabin, the greenhouses as they passed them, and eventually led them all the way to the Livestock Lodge itself.

Professor Kettleburn was nowhere in sight, but Ginny showed the Creeveys the caged creatures kept on reserve for students to study. She showed them the stalls and told them about the hippogriff that had recently used them. She showed them the training arena and the infirmary where a few owls and other small animals were being cared for.

Dennis was carrying a camera similar to the one Colin used, but smaller, and took pictures of some of the animals that were kept on reserve for students taking Care of Magical Creatures classes.

"Are you into photography like Colin?" Ginny asked him.

"No, not really. I'm better at drawing. My pictures are usually a little blurry or not centered right, but I can use them to help with my drawings later."

"Oh, are you good at drawing?"

Dennis glanced up at her and just shrugged. He seemed to revert to the shy Dennis she had met in Diagon Alley anytime they spoke about him specifically.

"Is your dad into art?"

Mr. Creevey was currently staring at the fire-dwelling salamanders and she heard him whisper, "Amazing!" to himself.

"History, art, books, you name it," said Dennis. "Now, anything that has to do with wizards too." He took a picture of the salamanders in the fire and did his best to make them silhouette against the bright light of the flames.

"Come on," said Ginny. "You'll want a picture of this guy back here." Finally, she had led them all the way to the back of the building, to a quiet, hidden stall.

"I've never seen a palomino with a golden mane and tail," said Mr. Creevey.

The foal was getting big enough he was mostly able to eat regular food but he still nudged Ginny looking for a bottle.

"Actually, he's a unicorn," said Ginny. She watched as both of them widened their eyes in disbelief.

"I thought unicorns had horns," said Dennis who had gone starry-eyed again.

"I thought they were pure white," said Mr. Creevey, clearly in just as much awe as his son.

"They do and they are," replied Ginny. "He's still a baby. In a few years, he'll turn silver and at about seven he'll go pure white. I'm not sure when the horn starts growing."

"They're rare, even for wizards to see. Normally, they hide from all people but this little guy had a rough start from before he was even born. Last year his mum was wounded by something hunting the unicorns in the Forbidden Forrest while she was pregnant with him. Right at the end of last year, she escaped and survived long enough to carry him to term but was still weak and she died not long after his birth."

"Hagrid found this little guy's mum and tracked him. He'd been running from whatever had been hunting them and at some point, his leg was sliced open by whatever it was pursuing his mum. Professor Kettleburn has been going mental trying to stay in stock with the berries that we use to make a salve to try to heal the cut. My friend Emerson and I have been taking turns helping Professor Kettleburn take care of him."

"You've had to bottle feed?" asked Mr. Creevey.

Ginny nodded, "They usually nurse until they're about a year old in the wild. This is usually where I came during the afternoons after your morning tours and you went to go sit with Colin."

"Does he have a name?" asked Dennis.

"No," said Ginny, as the foal nudged her looking for a bottle. "Professor Kettleburn doesn't want him too domesticated so he can eventually go back to his herd."

"Won't that be difficult? Since he'll be an unknown male?" asked Mr. Creevey curiously.

The three of them jumped when they heard Professor Kettleburn's answer from behind them, "Unicorns are more accepting of each other than normal horses. Safety in numbers and all."

Ginny introduced the Creeveys to Professor Kettleburn, who'd given her permission in advance to show them the foal. While Dennis patted the foal and Mr. Creevey asked a multitude of questions to the Professor she dumped a scoopful of oats into a bucket for the foal, but he just looked at it before nudging her again.

"Red, after dinner can you go to the school store cupboard and get some Essence of Dittany to mix up with the poultice for him? He'll need his bandage changed again tonight and if he hasn't eaten his oats by then, go ahead and mix him a bottle too."

"Okay," said Ginny with a puzzled expression, Professor Kettleburn had never asked her to come back in the evening.

"Appreciate it, Red. Hagrid and I are going to check the grounds now that this blizzard has let up, look for any injured animals."

With that Professor Kettleburn left them to keep the foal company until the Creeveys were due back to the castle to have for their scheduled luncheon with Professors McGonagall and Sprout, and the Finch-Fletchys and to hear the plan to keep the petrified boys from repeating this year. Ginny wasn't invited to the lunch, but she needed to get ready for Christmas dinner, which would start before their lunch ended.

They arrived in the Entrance Hall and met Professor McGonagall emerging from her office.

"Excellent timing, Miss Weasley. I'll take the Creeveys from here and see them off."

Saying goodbye to the Creeveys was harder than she thought it would have been. Over the past few days she'd been able to see bits of Colin in both of them and Dennis seemed to have the same optimistic energy as his elder brother. The rest of break would be lonely until Ash returned to Hogwarts.

"Thanks for the jumper again. I really do love it," Ginny said to Colin's family.

"Dad? Can Ginny come visit us sometime?" asked Dennis.

"Yeah, I'd be okay with that," said Mr. Creevey.

"Maybe over the summer?" asked Dennis.

Ginny nodded, "I'd have to ask first."

"Okay," said Dennis brightly. "Well, bye then."

"Bye," Ginny replied. Professor McGonagall gave her a small dismissive nod and she watched her lead the Creeveys away.

Upstairs in Gryffindor Tower, Ginny tucked away her red jumper into her trunk. She was going to have to be extra diligent in hiding it from her brothers.

: : : : :

Christmas dinner had been delicious. Ginny had made sure to eat an extra slice of pumpkin pie for Colin when it was served.

She still had one more task to accomplish before turning in for the night and while shuffling her things around she found Riddle's diary. It had been stowed away under the many newspapers she'd stuffed in there after finding them in the Creeveys' quarters, and a small pang of guilt bubbled up from her stomach before she remembered last time she'd written to Tom was the last time she'd lost time and Justin and Nick had been attacked.

Those were the types of thoughts however, that she firmly pushed aside. Another puzzle to figure out. Now that the Creeveys were gone she was going to have more opportunities to devote to the missing time and the paint on her robes, plus she had a new piece to the Lockhart puzzle which had only led to more questions she hadn't been able to explore while out with the Creeveys today.

Why was he not mentioned in any of the local papers immediately after his miraculous saves? Was it because he wasn't famous yet? Some of the stories involved him saving entire towns though, wouldn't at least the local wizarding papers write about it? Why are some of the stories exactly the same as those he's written about in his books but done by other people? Is Lockhart trying to gain fame and recognition now to make up for its absence back then? If he's so great, why does he keep down playing Harry's accomplishments? Why hasn't he caught the Heir of Slytherin yet? Why hasn't he figured out Ginny was the one attacking everyone?

That last one stopped Ginny dead in her tracks. Not right now, she thought to herself. The foal was depending on her and she needed to get to the store cupboard and back outside to check on him. She couldn't afford those dark thoughts clouding herself right now.

There were individual store cupboards in each classroom filled with ingredients specific to each year. Ginny however, was looking for the main room with the cupboard open to all students.

She was down in the dungeon corridors now and was counting doors on her left.

"One more," she whispered to herself.

It was dark inside. " _Incendio!_ " she said with force while concentrating on the torches she knew lined the walls of the classroom even though she couldn't see them.

There was a piercing shriek and then her name, " _GINNY?_ "

Not expecting anyone in the room, and preoccupied with doubts about herself, Ginny leaped backwards, tripped, and knocked over a chair with a loud clatter.

" _Percy?"_

Heart still thumping madly, Ginny got to her feet and had realized she recognized one of the two people who'd been in the dark room. The other was a girl she thought she'd seen sitting at the Ravenclaw table who had long curly brown hair.

"Ginny! What are you doing here?—Penny! Wait!" Caught between trying to tell off his little sister and keeping the other girl from running out of the room, Percy chose to let the other girl slip away. Then he rounded on Ginny.

"I . . . uh," Ginny was still reeling over the image she'd seen when she first walked into the room. Percy and the other girl had been mid-kiss and Percy had had his hands so far up the girl's sweater Ginny was sure their mum would've skinned him alive if she'd been the one who'd caught him.

"Never mind, just go back to the common room! It's not safe for students to be out wandering around by themselves! Go. Now." He pointed back out the door.

"No!" she retorted sharply, finally finding her voice. "I'm on an errand for a teacher, and if it's not safe why are you down here? It's not safe for you either!" She walked over to the store cupboard and pulled out the Essence of Dittany Professor Kettleburn had mentioned and put it in her bag.

"Penny and I are prefects! We are here to aid the teachers during this troubling time." It sounded as though Percy had rehearsed that line before.

Ginny raised her eyebrows at her brother, "In a dark classroom?"

Percy walked up to Ginny, but she held her ground, "It would be prudent of you not to mention this to anyone."

Ginny narrowed her eyes. She'd played this game with Fred and George far more often than Percy ever had, "Fine, but you owe me one."

Percy recognized the sibling resolve, "Fine," he replied. Then he stalked out of the room after Penny, no doubt on his way to do damage control.

She headed back to the main Entrance Hall, intent on keeping her promise to look after the foal. She took a longer route than what Percy would've gone to avoid running into him trying to console this Penny, but before she could open the front doors to the grounds they burst open on their own and blast of cold winter air rushed inside.

A girl with her hair pulled into a million tiny braids backed into the hall and was struggling to pull a heavy trunk in behind her.

"Oh, screw it!" she mumbled angrily. " _Wingardium Leviosa!_ " she raised the trunk into the air and guided it effortlessly into the hall and slammed the doors shut.

"Ash?" squealed Ginny.

Ash turned around with a worried look on her face but then broke into a huge smile.

"Thank Merlin's beard!" she exclaimed. "GIRL! Have I got a story to tell you! This has been the craziest, longest, Christmas Day EVER! Why are you down here? Where are you going?"

Ginny grinned, "Same here. Out to the Livestock Lodge to visit the sick foal. Wanna come?"

"I'm already gross from traveling, might as well visit the barn before I clean up."

She was wearing an expensive looking Muggle winter jacket and clothing that looked brand new instead of wizard robes and a cloak. Her boots were wet but not dirty and there wasn't a single hair that looked out of place. Gross was the last term that would've come to Ginny's mind.

Ash set her trunk down off to the side and out of the way. Looked at it for a second and then waved her hand dismissively indicating she would deal with it later.

"How did you get here?" asked Ginny.

"You first, tell me about your crazy day. Mine's a long story and I'd rather not think about it right now."

They headed outside while Ginny launched immediately into telling her about how there was no mention of Lockhart in any of the newspapers Ash had left for her to look through. Half way to the Lodge, Ash told Ginny all about her adventure traveling to Hogwarts in the Muggle way. When they arrived at the foal's stall Ash went to 'de-stress' as she put it, and decided to pet him while Ginny checked his half-eaten oats and made a bottle for him and to leave the Essence of Dittany where Professor Kettleburn could find it for the salve.

Ginny headed into the stall, bottle in hand to find the foal leaning into the ear scratching Ash was giving him. His ears pricked at the sight of the bottle, but as soon as Ginny brought it close his ears flared backwards and the whites of his eyes became pronounced as he bared his teeth in a terrified anger.

Ginny set the feeding bottle down and tried to soothe the upset foal but he insisted on stamping and tossing his head. She began to take off her book bag and toss it in a corner to stabilize herself easier but the foal seized it and yanked it away. It was all Ginny could do to hang on to it, but the seam, which had already been stressed from carrying Lockhart's books all year, ripped and books and parchment flew everywhere.

The diary hit the stall floor and a bottle of ink smashed getting instantly absorbed by straw. The foal stamped his front hooves on the diary a few times and then picked it up with his teeth. With a great nod of his head he threw the little book clear of his stall door and far down the aisle. Only then did the foal calm down.

"What was that all about?" asked Ash.

"I don't know," said Ginny. "He's never done that before."

"He really doesn't like that little black book," observed Ash.

Ash pulled out her wand and repaired Ginny's bag and the ink bottle, but there was nothing to be done for the spilled ink. They collected the books and parchment, then Ginny went out to retrieve Riddle's diary while Ash began feeding the foal.

As she brought the diary back towards the stall, the foal stopped suckling from the bottle and screamed in Ginny's direction. She set the diary down on the rail of a neighboring stall and crept into the foal's stall to retrieve her bag instead.

The foal calmly went back to suckling hungrily. Ginny took her bag out of the stall and just out of absolute curiosity brought the diary close again.

"Don't!" said Ash chidingly.

"I just want to be sure," said Ginny.

The foal rolled his eyes in Ginny's direction and laid his ears back threateningly. He tore away from the bottle, milk dribbling from his mouth as he bared his teeth again.

"Okay, yeah it's the book," said Ash. "It must be enchanted and he doesn't like the enchantment. Put it away!"

"I just don't understand," began Ginny as she shoved the diary back into her bag and went to set the bag on a far table, but she remembered the initial misgivings about Tom she'd had last time her and Ash had had the Lodge to themselves. That had been right after Colin's attack.

"We'll look at it later, away from him," said Ash. "Just keep it in your bag over there. Whatever it's enchanted with can't be good if a unicorn tries to destroy it."


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Secrets and Lies

Chapter Thirteen: Secrets and Lies

Ash nudged Ginny with her elbow in the library the next morning. She pointed her pen towards the entrance. "Look, there's Harry Potter!" she whispered. It was Boxing Day and Harry had walked in with Ron.

"I'm regretting telling you about that more and more every day," muttered Ginny. "Where's Hermione?" It was odd, seeing just the two of them, when lately the trio had become inseparable and prone to whispering to each other.

Ash was in a very good mood, just having thwarted her parents and took to teasing Ginny mercilessly whenever Harry Potter was in the vicinity. "His eyes . . . they're so green! His hair, it's so dark! Like . . . like . . ." Ash looked around for inspiration.

"Like Professor Binns' blackboard," finished Ginny offhandedly. "His blackboard is the hardest to read, did you ever notice that?" she said, trying to change the subject.

"That's because he hasn't switched to green blackboards like the other teachers have and don't change the subject," said Ash automatically. She pulled a small roll of parchment towards herself and started writing on it. "What rhymes with divine?"

"Pine. Line. Mine. Why? What are you writing?" Ginny looked over at Ash's parchment. "No! You burn that right now!"

But high on the excitement of defying her parents, Ash tried to elbow Ginny away from the parchment.

"What rhymes with blackboard?" she looked at Ginny expectantly.

"Nothing! Besides, my poems rhyme every other line and this one doesn't!"

Ash continued to hold her teasing ground, "Dark Lord rhymes perfectly. 'The one who vanquished the Dark Lord.'"

"It's a terrible poem," said Ginny flatly, but she gave into Ash's mischievous grin. "Change 'one' to 'hero.'"

Ash curled half of her face in disgust, "Gryffindors, and your obsession with heroics."

Ginny pressed on pretending as though she didn't hear Ash's dig, "And change 'vanquished' to 'conquered.' All the stories use the word 'vanquished,' it's unoriginal."

"'Conquered' isn't accurate either, nobody knows for sure if he's gone for good."

"Spoken like a true Slytherin," said Ginny with a wry smile. "Why do you call him the _Dark Lord_? I've never heard that before."

Ash seemed to be thinking back to a distant memory, "I think I heard one of my uncles call him that. Years ago. My father became very angry and said 'We don't use that name anymore.'"

"Do you think someone in your family was part of _his_ inner circle?" Ginny whispered even though they were alone in the library.

Ash paused and seemed to choose her words carefully, still willing to protect the family she had just run away from, "I've never found any evidence," she iterated slowly.

Ginny furled her eyebrows at her inquisitively, willing her to go on.

Ash sighed loudly, "I've never searched for any evidence," she amended truthfully.

Ginny tried imagining herself in a family that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would have wanted in his inner circle.

"It's okay if you aren't ready to know. I don't think I would be if I were you," she said consolingly. She glanced around and spotted Madam Pince in a stack of books at the far back of the library, pushing a half-full cart of returned books.

"You never told me why you left home yesterday," said Ginny, changing the subject for Ash's benefit.

Ash had told Ginny all about her adventure traveling the countryside pretending to be a nobody Muggle. She wasn't looking forward to her parents finding out she left with no notice, but she didn't think she'd get in much trouble for running away to school. She had been so wrapped up in telling Ginny about everything she'd seen traveling as a Muggle, she'd completely forgotten to say what drove her out of her house in the first place.

Rage swept through Ash's eyes and she opened her mouth to tell Ginny what had happened at home, but she quickly snapped it shut again.

"If I tell you, you have to keep it a secret because only my parents and I know about it."

Intrigued, Ginny replied, "Okay, I promise."

"Mum and dad took Dax and I to Gringotts the day after we got home. We checked on the progress of our inheritances and registered our wands for identification for our separate trust accounts."

Ginny waited patiently, so far this seemed standard for pure-bloods who still had inheritances.

"Then, mum took Dax shopping while dad and I went to a meeting with a wizard genealogist."

"Someone who traces your ancestry," said Ash when she noticed Ginny's blank look at the term.

"Anyway," Ash went on, "remember how we were discussing who inherits the Black family fortune? Well, it's still being contested! Guess by who? My father and another family, the Crouchs!"

"My father is arguing that Narcissa, formerly a Black before getting married, gave up her chance at inheriting the Black family fortune when she married into the Malfoy family!"

"Which means, what exactly?" asked Ginny. "It would go back up the line?"

"Right! But to who? The Burke's or the Crouch's?" said Ash.

Ginny could tell that from a scholar's perspective, Ash was really enjoying this.

"So, it would either go to your dad or this Crouch guy? What's that got to do with you?" asked Ginny.

"See, Mr. Crouch's son died years ago, so did his wife shortly after. Of heartache from losing her son people say. Mr. Crouch is the last heir in his own family, so it would be pointless for him to inherit the Black family fortune. So, get this! My dad is offering to drop the contesting of the inheritance _if_ the Malfoy's agree to jointly pay off Mr. Crouch, and marry their son to an eligible Burke daughter. Then those two will _together_ inherit the Malfoy family fortune, the Black family fortune, and half of the main Burke family fortune!"

"That would make that couple richer than _all_ the other old families put together," said Ginny.

"Plus, there's a good chance of them inheriting the Crouch money too, what's left of it anyway. Depending on his family tree of course," finished Ash.

A realization dawned on Ginny, "They wouldn't choose just any Burke daughter. It would have to be the one from the main blood line. Ash? Are they trying to arrange your future marriage?" Ginny was outraged.

"Yes," said Ash, eyes shining at the idea of all of these families becoming one.

"Is that what you want though?" asked Ginny, confused about her excitement.

"HELL NO!" said Ash, her eyes going hard again. "I'm nobody's pawn! It's just, usually this stuff is only read about when it happens to other people. People who lived decades, centuries, or even millennia ago."

"So, all of this possibility, good enough for the history books, and you're going to thwart it and throw it all away?" laughed Ginny.

"I'm going to metaphorically burn the possibility to the ground and into the underworld," said Ash. "I have more important things to do with my life than to count galleons and lord them over everyone else."

Madam Pince came back to the main area where Ginny and Ash had newspapers spread across one of the large tables. She was pushing a now empty book cart back to the book return and glanced in their direction with a puzzled look, then bustled over to her desk.

The girls quickly changed their conversation topic.

"So, you said Mr. Creevey said that the name Lockhart isn't mentioned in any of these papers?" asked Ash.

Ginny shook her head no, while watching Madam Pince consult a list and glanced over at the two of them again.

"I think you've been found out," said Ginny, watching Madam Pince write a quick note and throw it into the fireplace by the library's desk.

Ash rolled her eyes and began packing up her stuff slowly, "It was going to happen sooner or later. I'm going to take these and look them over myself okay?" she indicated the newspapers Ginny was supposed to have read.

Professor McGonagall entered the library, nostrils flaring, and seeing both of them stormed over to their table, Madam Pince on her heels.

"Miss Burke! I do not recall having you down on my list of students staying at Hogwarts over the holiday! When did you arrive back to the castle?"

Ginny dropped her gaze to the table, unable to hide her guilt for knowing about Ash's running away from home and early arrival back to school.

Ash however, quickly stood up and lifted her chin before quietly replying, "Last night."

"Does Professor Snape know about this?"

"No."

"Your parents?" pressed Professor McGonagall.

"I doubt my parents have even noticed I've gone," said Ash matter-of-factly.

Madam Pince let out a small gasp as her mouth dropped open and her eyes grew full of concern. The only change in emotion Professor McGonagall displayed however was her nostrils had stopped flaring.

"All the more reason we must inform them. Madam Pince, please take Miss Burke to the staff room where I saw Professor Snape last, if he is not there find him in his office."

Ash picked up her bag and followed Madam Pince out of the library.

Professor McGonagall rounded on Ginny, "Were you aware that no adult knew of Miss Burke's whereabouts?"

"Yes, ma'am," Ginny did her best not to mumble.

"Detention, Miss Weasley." A look of unfairness must've crossed Ginny's features for Professor McGonagall further explained with a simple, "For ensconcement."

Professor McGonagall turned and strode out of the library, the heels of her boots clicking loudly on the floor in the large empty room.

Ginny reluctantly packed away her things to head back to Gryffindor Tower. Ash was likely going to be spending the next few hours with Professors Snape and McGonagall. Ginny didn't think she'd see her until after dinner.

Once again, her footsteps seemed to echo loudly in the empty corridors; it was this reason that allowed her to hear the low murmurs of voices floating in her direction. She thought they sounded familiar and was wondering why they were whispering back and forth. She hid behind a suit of armor and sure enough, the voices belonged to her brother, Ron, and to Harry Potter.

The memory of the poem her and Ash had joked about rose to mind and a slight flush crept into her cheeks. She didn't want to see Harry and Ron while she was blushing and remained hidden.

After they had moved far enough away, curiosity got the better of her. Hermione wasn't with them again. Ginny peered down the hall they had come from. It looked like they had come from the hospital wing.

She silently padded to the hospital wing. Through the closed door, she heard Madam Pomfrey talking to someone. Ginny made to push open the door, but she was blocked by Madam Pomfrey.

"Miss Weasley! Here to see the Creevey boy again?"

Ginny innocently nodded yes.

"I have another charge at the moment, you'll have to wait outside for a few minutes."

When Madam Pomfrey finally allowed Ginny inside, there were high curtains around one of the beds. Other beds were filled with the unmoving forms of Colin, Justin, and Nearly-Headless Nick.

She walked past the high curtains and sat in a chair near Colin's bed.

Two of the chairs that had been near Colin's bed for his dad and brother were now near the bed with the high curtains.

"Hey, Colin," Ginny let her voice carry. "Your dad and brother left yesterday and Ash came back early. She arrived back at the castle last night. She had the craziest adventure traveling like a Muggle."

Ginny thought she saw a shadow move behind the curtain, but when she looked closer it disappeared.

"Hermione? Are you okay?" Ginny blurted out. She let another few heartbeats pass then called out again, "Hermione?"

"How'd you know it was me?" she heard Hermione call from behind the curtain.

"Haven't seen you around with Ron and Harry lately and they just came from this direction. Are you okay?"

Hermione tugged on the curtain and Ginny only stopped herself just in time from letting out a small scream.

Hermione's brown eyes were green and she had pupils like a cat, and her face and hands were covered in a dark black fur.

"What happened?" asked Ginny.

"Potion gone wrong," replied Hermione sullenly.

"Why were you brewing a potion?" They were on holiday, surely Hermione wasn't that studious.

Hermione looked like she didn't want to talk about it at first but ultimately asked, "Can you keep a secret? I mean the purpose of the potion didn't go as planned anyway so I suppose it's not really a secret anymore."

Ginny moved from the chair near Colin's bed to one of those closer to Hermione.

For the second time in one day, Ginny agreed. "I can keep a secret."

Hermione gave her an appraising look and then slowly told her the theory that her, Ron, and Harry had worked out about Malfoy being the Heir of Slytherin or at least Malfoy knowing who it was.

Ginny shook her head, "Nobody in Slytherin knows, otherwise Ash would've found out and told me. She does say that they often go around the common room trying to figure it out though. Lots of Slytherins want to help the Heir, especially Malfoy. So, how did you get like this?"

"This whole time we could've just asked you?" Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "It's all my fault," said Hermione exasperatedly. "I suggested we use a potion to make ourselves look like Slytherins but the final ingredient for my part of the potion turned out to be a cat hair."

Hermione quietly told Ginny the whole story of how Harry and Ron had turned into Crabbe and Goyle and only learned one thing: the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened was fifty years ago. The words fifty years ago rang a bell, something from this past summer but she couldn't quite put her finger on it at the moment.

"Harry Potter's on the trail of the Heir of Slytherin?" asked Ginny. She could feel the blood receding from her face. She glanced in Hermione's direction but Hermione was determinedly looking away with her cat eyes.

"We just keep running into these clues," said Hermione. "Plus, I think Harry wants his name cleared, so makes it kind of hard to resist putting it together doesn't it?"

Ginny nodded but didn't answer, she was wondering how close the three of them were to figuring out who the Heir was.

"Listen," said Hermione, "I'm glad you're here. According to _Hogwarts, a History_ , boys can't go up to the girls' dorms, so would you be able to retrieve some of my books and things? It's quite boring when no one is visiting."

"Yeah," said Ginny, still thinking about Ron, Harry, and Hermione on the trail of Slytherin's Monster, the same trio who defeated teachers' traps and Quirrell and Voldemort only last year.

"Okay, I'll make you a list," said Hermione.

: : : : :

New Year's came and went. Ginny periodically visited Hermione when she knew Ron and Harry were in the common room. Hermione's fur eventually disappeared. Ginny looked up the word esconcement which wasn't really a word, but still seemed an appropriate reason for her detention, which once again took place in the Livestock Lodge though this time Ginny had to muck stalls while listening to Professor Kettleburn holler about retirement. Ash's father sent his Eagle Owl to deliver her a letter of his deepest disappointment in her. He re-iterated how irresponsible she had been and reminded her how her actions reflected not only on herself but that of the entire Burke family.

The only good thing to have come from Ash's father's letter was that it had driven the diary clean out of Ash's mind. With the rest of the school still gone, the two of them would meet in the Entrance Hall after breakfast and go to the quiet library. The only other student who had used the library regularly over the holiday was Hermione and with her in the hospital the two of them had it to themselves for hours at a time.

Ash was still receiving newspapers from printers who were taking their time getting back to her and the story remained the same throughout all of them. Lockhart wasn't mentioned anywhere.

Ash roughly folded up the last paper she had received after just having finished going through it. She let out a huffy sigh and made quite a bit of noise while she put the paper back together and threw it in the pile she was already finished with.

"He didn't do ANY of it!"

Ginny glanced up at Ash questioningly. She had been finishing up Professor Flitwick's assigned essay on animating inanimate objects.

"He _couldn't_ have done any of it. The magic he describes in his books is exactly the same as these in the newspapers, yet he isn't mentioned in any of them. The ones that do mention who did these things don't name Lockhart and they all have different names for every story. I really think he stole these peoples' stories!"

"But he's published," said Ginny. She'd come to this conclusion days ago, but hadn't yet worked out how Lockhart had managed to publish without the real heroes calling him out for stealing their stories. "How could he get away with it over and over again without getting caught? Do you think he paid them off to not say anything?"

"No," said Ash. "If he'd written his books from the point of view of the real people who'd done these feats, they'd still be the same basic story. The real heroes would make more money by getting credit than by taking money to keep quiet. No, there's a reason he says he did them. We just have to figure out why, then work on the how."

"I'd say he cursed them or threatened to curse them, but he doesn't seem good enough at any magic to be able to follow through with it," said Ginny. "He tricked them. All of them. He had to have."

Ginny thought about the way he treated Harry, "He makes people who threaten his fame feel inferior to him with the way he twists his words and his tone of voice. I hate listening to him. I hope they get someone else next year."

She looked at the clock in the library, "I gotta get going if I want to have enough time to check on the foal." Ginny started packing her things into her bag double checking to make sure the diary wasn't in it this time.

"Everyone's coming back tomorrow. I just got used to this place being so quiet," said Ash.

"I can't wait until everyone comes back. I'm tired of being in the common room with only my brothers and Harry."

Ash whipped her eyes up to meet Ginny's, one eyebrow raised and a wicked teasing grin on her face at the mention of Harry directly.

"Don't," said Ginny with an eyeroll. In the days since Ash's return she'd finally let up teasing her about Harry.

"How's Hermione?" asked Ash instead. Ginny realized Hermione was still going to be in the hospital when everyone else came back from break and went ahead and told Ash so it wasn't a surprise when the rest of the school came back and speculated on it.

"She's doing better. She can't wait for term to start so she can work on homework again."

"What happened to her now?" asked Ash while she packed her own bag. Ginny never had given her a satisfactory answer.

"She just told me that she was trying to do an advanced potion and it went wrong."

"Why though? Why would she be trying to make a complicated potion."

Ginny sighed, then with her bag still slung over her shoulder, she dropped back into the chair opposite Ash. "Look it's kind of a secret and I don't know everything about it, but Ron, Harry, and Hermione are on the trail of the Heir of Slytherin. Hermione said clues keep popping up for them and this potion was supposed to help them gather more information but it went wrong. That's all I know."

"What potion was it?" asked Ash, listening intently.

"I don't know anything else, I don't know what potion. They aren't going to tell me anything more and Ron and Harry don't even know that I know that much. My brothers and I have this unspoken rule, don't get involved and you won't get in trouble. I'm not getting involved."

Ash looked at her pile of newspapers, "We have our own mission anyway. Tracking down the Heir of Slytherin is way more dangerous than proving Lockhart's a fraud. They can have that mission," said Ash.

Ginny gave an involuntary jerk of surprise. "You aren't interested in figuring out who the Heir is?"

"No. Like I said, that's way too dangerous."

Ginny held her gaze on Ash; here was a puzzle she thought Ash would've jumped at the opportunity to solve.

"You really aren't interested?"

"I'm not a hero, Ginny." Ash made that statement as though it were an obvious fact.

It was a difficult concept for Ginny to wrap her head around after spending eleven years with the rest of her family, but nevertheless she decided to accept it. Ash was Ash, and they were inherently different from each other.

"Please don't tell anyone what I said. Hermione trusts me."

"Who am I going to tell?" asked Ash truthfully. "The only people I would tell are either lying in the hospital wing or have just told me herself."

They walked out of the library and Ginny made her way down to the Livestock Lodge. Ash had been spending late afternoons and evenings working on the homework assigned over break when Ginny went to the Livestock Lodge, as her family hadn't allowed her time while she was at home before Christmas.

Ginny hadn't had any issues with the foal since Christmas night. She also hadn't brought along Riddle's diary either though.

She didn't see Professor Kettleburn anywhere in the Lodge and checked on the level of the oats in the foal's bucket. It was mostly all still there. She sighed and went to make him a bottle.

As she held the bottle up for him to suckle, she rubbed the growing foal between the ears, straightening his golden forelock.

"Why don't you like my friend Tom in the diary?" she whispered to him.

"He's kind of a liar, isn't he?" she said out loud more for herself than to the foal.

"But he doesn't ever actually lie."

: : : : :

Term began the following Monday. Whispers raced around the school about Hermione when it was noticed she wasn't attending classes. Ginny did her best to assure the people who asked her that she had not been Petrified over break. Regardless, many people tried to get a glimpse of her in the hospital wing to see for themselves; and Ginny had heard that Madam Pomfrey spent the first few days keeping them out to save Hermione embarrassment.

Ginny was allowed entry however. Nearly a week after New Year's, she went over to Colin's bed for a moment, subconsciously still looking for a sign that he was breaking out of his petrification even though she knew it was impossible on his own. Hermione pulled back her curtain a bit to see who was visiting and Ginny could tell she was relieved to see it was someone who already knew what she looked like.

Hermione's eyes had finally lost the cat pupils and were nearly brown again.

"Have Ron and Harry visited today yet?" asked Ginny.

Hermione shook her head no.

"I thought I was looking forward to everyone being back, but you being in here has them all panicking like they were just before they'd left," said Ginny. "Some of them are saying some nasty things."

"Like what?" asked Hermione curiously.

"That last time the Chamber was opened a Muggle-born died. Some of them out there are joking who it's going to be this time. I know they say things like that in front of me because Ash and I are pure-bloods."

"Yes, I've heard Malfoy hopes it's me," said Hermione flippantly. "Fifty years ago, when it happened before, was before his father's time so we don't know who it was that passed away."

"Fifty years ago?" asked Ginny. Once again, the span of years rang a bell to her.

"Yeah, that's what Malfoy said anyway. It might not be exact."

An image of the diary swam in front of Ginny's mind. She distinctly remembered thinking that Tom in real life would be sixty-six years old because he was sixteen when he made the diary fifty years ago!

Hermione glanced up at the clock in the hospital wing, "Harry and Ron should be here anytime. I'll have something to read then," she said with a smile.

Ginny stood up, "I'll let you visit them in peace." She glanced once more over in Colin's direction and then headed back to Gryffindor Tower.

She'd been afraid to write to Tom ever since she'd stayed up all night telling him Harry Potter's story, but if Tom had been around fifty years ago and a Muggle-born died fifty years ago, Tom might have been at school the last time the Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Ginny became determined to ask him.

She quickly side-stepped around the students clogging up the corridors and vaguely wished the halls were empty once more. She scrambled through the hole behind the portrait of the Fat Lady and ran into Emerson in the common room.

"Hey, I'm headed to the Livestock Lodge. You wanna come?"

Ginny shook her head, "Not tonight, I've got stuff to catch up on." Another lie, she berated herself.

"Okay," said Emerson. He'd been helping with the foal ever since his return from spending Christmas with Tai Zhang's family. Ginny only went down with him once since he came back, but that was mostly to catch him up on the foal's status.

Emerson made his way out of the common room as Ginny headed upstairs to her dorm. She opened her trunk and dug through it until she'd found the diary. The room was empty, Thaliana and the others must've been down in the common room working on homework, Ginny pulled the curtains shut around her four-poster anyway to be completely in her own space.

"Dear Tom, I've been struggling with something and I just found out that the perfect person to ask about it is you."

" _I'm always here for you."_

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened and I know we've talked about it, but what I never said before was that I think it's me! There are these big blank spaces in my memory. I wake up in places and I don't know how I got there. I can't remember what I'd been doing on Halloween when a cat was attacked or on the last day of term when there was a double attack. I've been very tired and mentally exhausted and I don't really know why. Once I found red paint on my front the same color as the writing on the wall when the cat was attacked. I think I'm blacking out and **I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Tom!** " **(1)**

" _You don't remember the actual attacks though?"_

" _Blank spaces, red paint, and rooster feathers are hardly proof that you are the attacker."_

"I forgot about the rooster feathers! I cleaned those up so I forgot about them, how did you know?" Tom's reply wasn't immediate.

" _You've mentioned them before."_

"When? There are blank spaces when I write to you too."

" _When you've found them on you. There were a couple of occasions."_

"Halloween, and after the double attack, but not during Colin's attack. Colin's attack is the only one where I didn't wake up somewhere I shouldn't have," she struggled to remember, "but I did lose time that night. I was thinking about Colin so much, I didn't realize I'd lost time but I did. I remember writing to you because we'd had a fight but I don't remember falling asleep and the next day I felt like I hadn't slept."

An idea dawned on Ginny, "I was writing to you on Halloween night. You told me to relax my mind and the next thing I remember I was standing in front of the mirror, and I was writing to you the night before the double attack. You made me tell you everything I knew about Harry Potter. That I remember but I lost time after that. I'd skipped morning classes."

Ginny took a couple of deep breaths before finally writing, "It's you Tom, isn't it? You're the one making me do these things."

"Tom, did you possess another student with this diary fifty years ago and kill a Muggle-born with Slytherin's monster?"

" _No."_

Ginny was nearly crying with frustration. Somehow the more emotional she became the more she sensed Tom's emotions. She sensed he was telling the truth, but she knew his game now.

"You had something to do with it though, didn't you? It's your fault she died, isn't it!"

Nearly a minute passed with no response. Ginny began to panic. If Tom had been possessing her, she was opening herself up to the opportunity again. She picked up the diary and began to close it but at that same moment a single word inked its way across the page.

" _Yes."_

"NO!" Ginny shouted. She went to slam the book shut, but she was too late. The haze flooded her mind thicker than it ever had before. The box slammed around her consciousness.

Ginny fought. She had no memory of fighting this box before but somehow she knew exactly what to do. She threw all of her focus into willing the box away, willing away the foggy haze. She imagined her hands on the insides of the box and imagined it was made of glass. She pushed her will against the glass and imagined it vibrating ominously. The vibrating became more and more intense.

Ginny imagined herself letting out a scream as loudly as she was capable of and pushed. She pushed with her imagined voice, her imagined hands, her will power, finally the glass box shattered. The haze was still clouding her but she used her new mental freedom and pushed her imaginary hands out in front of her and made a motion with them similar to opening shutters from inside a window to push the foggy haze away from her line of sight and it felt like her eyes snapped open.

She was herself again. She didn't know how much time had passed, though it didn't feel like it had been much. There was no net over her mind. There was no whisper telling her to forget. She remembered it all this time. She remembered the box and the haze and she remembered how she'd escaped, how she'd successfully banished Tom from taking over her mind.

It was a moment before she'd realized that she was no longer in her dorm room. In the time she'd spent fighting Tom for control of her own mind, he'd moved her all the way downstairs to girls' bathroom on the second floor. She was looking into the same mirror she'd found herself in front of the first time she'd woken up from a blackout.

The diary was closed in her hand. The energy-draining emotional pull felt weaker than usual.

Angry over her most recent possession, Ginny let out a scream like a war-cry and ran to the stall closest to the tap she had been standing in front of. She banged the door open and not caring if she sloped toilet water on her robes, she shoved the diary into the hole where the waste normally goes down and pulled the rope to flush it.

She helped the toilet along by pushing on the little diary while the water tried to suck it down the pipe. When the diary was finally gone, the toilet looked like it might not be in proper working order but she didn't care. She imagined the diary zooming down to the Black Lake and sinking all the way to the bottom, never to be seen again. Perhaps even being torn apart by the creatures that lived under the surface.

She wanted to collapse, she wanted to cross her arms on the seat of the toilet and lean her head on her arms and sob.

It was over.

Instead, she stood up and went back to the tap. She went to turn it on to splash water on her face but no matter which way she turned it, water wouldn't pour from the faucet. She moved over to the sink beside it and that one worked normally.

After thoroughly cleaning herself, she used her wand to dry out her robes. When they were dry enough to not be noticed by anyone she may pass in the corridor, Ginny made her way back to Gryffindor Tower. Checking a clock, it appeared that only enough time had been lost to make it down to the bathroom, but not to have caused any more damage. She changed into fresh clothes and set her robes aside for laundering, feeling lighter than she had done in months. She felt free.

: : : : :

Weeks passed. Life began to normalize at school. Hermione got out of the hospital and seeing her in the corridors between classes lifted the spirits of everyone who was still worried about the Heir of Slytherin. Making fun of Ginny's crush on Harry almost lost its novelty for Ash. Blake Sullivan had stopped being so outspoken against Harry Potter and even asked Ginny for help in Charms once.

Gwendelyn sat with Ginny and Ash in the library a few times and whenever Kindra wasn't around she told the two of them stories of Kindra's ridiculous antics trying to get Malfoy's attention, while also pushing Gwen away in favor of bringing Sterling Pyrites back into her core group.

Hanging out with Gwendelyn came to a quick halt however once Sterling began associating exclusively with Logan Lawless. Miffed, Kindra started keeping sharper tabs on Gwendelyn and when she caught her laughing with Ash and Ginny in the library she stalked over and yelled so loudly that Gwen accidentally grabbed a stack of Ash's homework with her own and Ash barely managed to yank it back before Kindra smirked and escorted Gwen away. Ginny fumed during the whole ordeal but other than narrowing her eyes at Kindra she didn't give her the satisfaction of a hostile reaction.

The best thing though, was that Ginny started playing Quidditch again. She went back to teaching Logan Lawless how to fly during Quidditch Club in the evenings and was often picked by a captain to be a teammate for Sunday Quidditch Scrimmage. Usually she played as Chaser and was getting better at anticipating her teammates movements and one time while playing as a Seeker she caught the Snitch for her team. Ash came to every game and sometimes they stayed to watch the older students after.

The House Captains still attended every Scrimmage game and still gave individual House members critiques, but the weekend before Valentine's Day in February was especially exciting. Ravenclaw third year, Cho Chang, was chosen to be Reserve Seeker by Ravenclaw Captain Roger Davies.

It was the first time all year that any of the Captains picked someone from the Scrimmage games to join a House team. Ginny was excited to have seen it first hand, for it was all the talk during Quidditch Club in the evenings after classes for the next week. Apparently, Cho had stopped attending Intermediates Quidditch Club, which met after Beginner's, in favor of going to practices with the House team.

Ginny hoped that someday the same would happen to her. Oliver's advice giving was getting better but he was still brutal at times, especially towards those who weren't making the progress he thought they ought to be making.

During one Herbology lesson Keishawn asked how the Mandrakes were doing and let out a whoop to everyone's amusement when Professor Sprout told him that they were nearing fully mature and that Colin would be back with them soon.

The morning of Valentine's Day found Ginny rising with the other girls in her dorm. Richelle was helping everyone with special hair do's as she'd deemed it a special day and Thaliana was telling them that she'd overheard from someone that Professor Lockhart had arranged for a surprise for the whole school.

Ginny rolled her eyes at the mention of Lockhart but was forced to sit and listen to the other girls try to guess what his surprise may be because Richelle was only half way through straightening her hair with some Muggle tool she called a "flat-iron" which she had spelled hot.

"When I properly learn the spells for hair do's I can throw this stupid thing away," she'd said.

Professor Lockhart's surprise for the school became apparent the moment the Gryffindors walked into the Great Hall. Ginny was horrified to see giant pink flowers on the walls and what looked like pink snow was falling from the enchanted ceiling. When she sat down she brushed what was actually pink confetti in the shape of tiny hearts off of her plate before filling it with pancakes.

" **Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all — and it doesn't end here!"**

 **Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly-looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps.**

" **My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" beamed Lockhart. They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion? And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!" (** **2)**

Throughout the day the cupids would burst into classrooms, disrupting the teachers, to deliver their valentines. Herbology had the most interruptions as many of the Hufflepuffs sent valentines to everyone else they shared classes with. Charms didn't have any interruptions as the Gryffindors had that class to themselves and nobody had sent a valentine to each other amongst first-years. After Charms was lunch though and Ginny heard many stories of upperclassmen having their classes interrupted with real heartfelt valentines and with pranking ones. Defense Against the Dark Arts was also a quiet class as the Gryffindors once again had that class to themselves as a double period.

Finally, the day was over for Gryffindor first-years and as they were lining up to leave Defense Against the Dark Arts, the Slytherin first-years came from the Charms corridors and both classes heard a commotion in the corridor.

" **Oi, you! 'Arry Potter!" shouted a particularly grim looking dwarf, elbowing people out of the way to get to Harry. (** **3)**

Ginny saw Harry's face flush with immediate embarrassment and she both felt bad for him while at the same time felt the slightest twinge of jealousy that someone else was brave enough to send him a valentine. Harry tried to turn and walk quickly away from the dwarf before he could reach him.

 **The dwarf, however, cut his way through the crowd by kicking people's shins, and reached him before he'd gone two paces.**

" **I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person," he said, twanging his harp in a threatening sort of way.**

" _ **Not here**_ **," Harry hissed, trying to escape.**

" **Stay** _ **still**_ **!" grunted the dwarf, grabbing hold of Harry's bag and pulling him back.**

" **Let me go!" Harry snarled, tugging.**

 **With a loud ripping noise, his bag split in two. His books, wand, parchment, and quill spilled onto the floor and his ink bottle smashed over everything.**

 **Harry scrambled around, trying to pick it all up before the dwarf started singing, causing something of a hold up in the corridor.**

" **What's going on here?" came the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy. Harry started stuffing everything feverishly into his ripped bag, desperate to get away before Malfoy could hear his musical valentine.**

" **What's all this commotion?" said another familiar voice as Percy arrived. (** **4)**

Ginny watched as Harry tried to make a run for it but the dwarf reached down and grabbed him by his ankles and tripped Harry, who hit the floor hard.

" **Right," he said, sitting on Harry's ankles. "Here is your singing valentine:**

 _ **His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,  
His hair is as dark as a blackboard.  
I wish he was mine, he's really divine,  
The hero who conquered the Dark Lord." **_**(** **5)**

Ginny recognized it instantly. She turned to look daggers at Ash. Ginny was so enraged her temper drowned out all sound in the corridor. But Ash simply looked shocked. Her eyes were huge and disbelieving as she stared at the dwarf who was removing himself from Harry. Ash looked over at Ginny and tried to shake her head denying what had just happened but she was being shuffled away. What finally broke through was Kindra's cackle as she drifted along in the wake of her classmates.

Percy began clearing everyone out of the halls. " **Off you go, off you go, the bell rang five minutes ago, off to class, now," he said shooing some of the younger students away. "** _ **And**_ **you, Malfoy—" (** **6)**

Ginny watched Malfoy stoop over and pick something up. He showed it to Crabbe and Goyle with a malicious look on his face. Ginny squinted, the thing Malfoy picked up looked oddly familiar.

Suddenly Ginny realized it was Riddle's diary! Somehow, Harry had gotten ahold of it after she'd flushed it and now Malfoy had it in his hands!

" **Give that back," said Harry quietly.**

" **Wonder what's Potter written in this?" said Malfoy, who obviously hadn't noticed the year on the cover and thought he had Harry's own diary. A hush fell over the onlookers. Ginny was staring from the diary to Harry, looking terrified.**

" **Hand it over, Malfoy," said Percy sternly.**

" **When I've had a look," said Malfoy, waving the diary tauntingly at Harry.**

 **Percy said, "As a school prefect—" but Harry had lost his temper. He pulled out his wand and shouted, "** _ **Expelliarmus!**_ **" and just as Snape had Disarmed Lockhart, so had Malfoy found the diary shooting out of his hand into the air. Ron grinning broadly, caught it.**

" **Harry!" said Percy loudly. "No magic in the corridors! I'll have to report this, you know!" (** **7)**

But Harry was already walking away laughing, with Ron. **Malfoy was looking furious, and as Ginny passed him** heading in the direction with an empty classroom ahead **, he yelled spitefully after her, "I don't think Potter liked your valentine much!" (** **8)**

 **Ginny covered her face with her hands and ran into (** **9)** the empty classroom. Even though she hadn't actually sent the valentine herself, she'd felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. She'd needed to just get out of the corridor.

There was too much happening at once. Ash's teasing of Ginny's crush on Harry had finally gone too far. Somehow, Malfoy had found out and basically told the whole corridor that she had a crush on Harry. Tom Riddle's diary was back. Harry Potter had Riddle's diary and who knows for how long he'd had it.

What if he'd figured out how to work it? What if Riddle told Harry all of Ginny's secrets? What if Riddle started possessing Harry? What if Riddle manages to murder another student?

Ginny needed to get the diary back and she had to do it soon.

Quotes:

(1) CoS page 311  
(2) CoS page 236  
(3) CoS page 237  
(4) CoS page 237-238  
(5) CoS page 238  
(6) CoS page 238  
(7) CoS page 238-239  
(8) CoS page 239  
(9) CoS page 239


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Trespasses

Chapter Fourteen: Trespasses

The following Friday found Ginny and Ash in a heated argument in Potions class. They were supposed to be learning how to properly de-seed Mistletoe berries for a future potion and although Ash was managing to scoop hers fairly easily, Ginny was having no such luck. She kept mashing her berries too forcefully and lost too much juice for them to remain viable for a potion.

"Are you going to tell me why you're so upset, or what? I'm not going to stand here and guess!" said Ash. "I already told you I was sorry about that valentine, what more do you want from me?"

"You shouldn't have sent it in the first place!" hissed Ginny.

"I didn't send it!" Ash hissed back. "That's what I've been trying to tell you! This isn't my fault! The poem was gone from my folder!"

Ginny knew she was too angry to listen and her stomach was also still doing somersaults every time she thought about Harry Potter having the diary.

"It doesn't matter! This never would have happened if you'd just burned the parchment the day I told you to do it!" snapped Ginny.

Ash looked taken aback.

Ginny threw what remained of her berries into her cauldron, shoved her potions book back into her bag and heaved her cauldron into the air.

"I'm not going to deal with this right now," said Ginny as she walked away. Not with everything else that was worrying her. She headed towards Thaliana and Takara's table.

"It's not that big of a deal," said Ash loudly as Ginny slammed her cauldron onto the table with the Gryffindor girls.

Kindra and her minions were unabashedly staring while they watched the argument.

"Lover's quarrel," said Rydia, not troubling to keep her voice down.

"Can't be," rebutted Kindra, "Ginny's in love with Harry Potter!"

A great burst of laughter issued from the table with the Slytherin girls, except for Gwendelyn who had a subdued expression on her face.

"Shut it, Avery!" snapped Ash.

"Quiet," came Professor Snape's voice, which had been particularly absent during Kindra and Rydia's outbursts across the room.

The classroom remained silent after that. The boys from Slytherin and Gryffindor tables kept shooting sideways glances between Ginny and Ash but otherwise stayed quiet. Thaliana and Takara didn't say a word about Ginny joining them at their table but Thaliana would throw looks of daggers at Kindra's table every time she saw them giggling behind their hands.

February crept into March and even though Ginny was feeling much better now that Tom in the diary wasn't sapping her strength, she noticed Harry Potter so far didn't seem any worse for the wear. She held onto hope that he hadn't figured out how to work the diary yet.

She had finally come up with a plan to get it back. It was reckless and completely something Tom in the diary would approve of, which was why Ginny decided first to try and take the proper Weasley route.

"Percy," Ginny had finally caught Percy working in a quiet corner in the common room.

"What is it?" he asked rather guardedly, not looking up from his homework.

Ginny took a mental deep breath, it was now or never. "That black book you tried to make Malfoy give back to Harry on Valentine's Day? I need you to confiscate it."

"Why?" asked Percy, picking up his Transfiguration notes and cross-checking them with a page in his book. "If you need to borrow it, just go ask him for it yourself."

"It's not Harry's, Percy. And I need you to confiscate it."

"If it's not Harry's, who's is it?" asked Percy, still not giving Ginny his full attention.

She put her hands on top of Percy's books on the table and leaned down to be right in front of her brother's face, "You owe me for keeping quiet about what I saw with Penny. You're a prefect, you don't need an excuse. Just confiscate it."

Now Ginny had all of Percy's attention. He seemed to be weighing her words very carefully. The longer he remained quiet the more triumphant Ginny felt, clearly he couldn't think of a logical way out of that one.

Finally, he spoke.

"No."

Ginny was immediately crushed, if it were Fred and George giving Percy an ultimatum he would have at least tried to renegotiate instead of giving a flat-out no.

"What do you mean, no?" demanded Ginny.

"I _mean,_ I'd rather take a punishment from mum, than undermine the prefect system here at school."

"Who says it was mum I was going to tell?" as she straightened up again. With the smallest glance in the twins' direction she had the satisfaction of seeing the color drain just the slightest from Percy's face before he hitched his resolve back into place.

She stormed back up to her dorm room.

Well, she'd tried she thought to herself. She tried to do it the way her and her siblings grew up with each other. Helping each other into and out of mischief.

It was time to resort to the plan she knew Tom in the diary would have approved of from the get go. She was going to steal the diary back.

She set herself to carefully watching the comings and goings of all the Gryffindor boys in Ron's year to figure out when her best chance to break into Harry's trunk would be.

It seemed to take ages. March turned into April, which at least allowed Ginny to spend Ron's and the twins' birthdays with them. Harry and Hermione each purchased Ron a birthday present while Ginny volunteered to magically patch all of the holes he'd worn into his clothing so far this year. Ron had happily obliged and brought down every article of clothing he owned, all of which were in need of repair.

The twins however, specifically requested no presents. Only to keep quiet to about the party they threw with Lee Jordan and the Chasers of the Gryffindor team in the common room. The party was themed, with Lee Jordan and the Chasers playing April's Fools pranks on the twins and the twins playing pranks on everyone else. Somehow, they'd managed to have a vast array of sweets and butterbeers again and plenty of side dishes and desserts Ginny recognized at once from meals in the Great Hall. She wondered how the twins had nicked so much food from the kitchens with all those watching house elves.

April eventually turned into May and Ginny spent her first holiday break, Easter, completely without Ash, who she still wasn't speaking to. Nevertheless, between birthdays, parties, and holidays from school Ginny kept copious tabs on the Gryffindor second-year boys. Having ditched her vendetta on Lockhart now that she was convinced he was a fraud, she had plenty of free time to dedicate to the mission of getting back the diary.

Besides, she thought, telling someone like Professor McGonagall her theory that Lockhart was dishonest in his publishing would require evidence. Evidence Ash was currently in possession of and that was not a door Ginny was ready to open again just yet. Unless Ash decided on her own to present their findings Ginny would wait until Ash told her exactly why the poem was sung in front of the whole school before trying to pursue that undertaking.

One problem at a time, she thought to herself and the current situation was much more dire.

Harry was easy. Oliver Wood had the entire Quidditch team practicing late every evening during the week. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were also easy, Ginny knew they would be at Quidditch Club on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings. Ron spent most evenings in the common room with Hermione while Harry was at Quidditch practice, which made Ginny wonder how he always seemed to be behind in his homework.

That left the wild card, Neville. Usually, he was in the common room near Hermione to ask for help. Sometimes she followed him to the library where he looked at books about Herbology. Sometimes he went to Quidditch Club to watch Dean and Seamus. Many times, he would be in one of these places only to randomly leave and go to another, sometimes up to the boys' dormitory by himself. Neville was unpredictable, which would mean he would need a distraction.

Ginny had begun spending more time near Hermione in the common room, she became more active with the other girls in her own dorm to appear normal while she watched the boys, and began to do her homework nightly in the common room both to get closer to Hermione and Neville while at the same time avoiding Ash in the library.

She found her opportunity one Thursday night. She was getting ready for Quidditch Club and was in the common room waiting for Dean, Seamus, and Jasper to walk down together, when she overheard Neville being encouraged to participate as well by Hermione.

Ginny quickly sat down in a nearby armchair and listened to their conversation.

"What if they make fun of me?" asked Neville.

"It's a club!" said Hermione, "They take anyone who wants to try."

"Would you come with me?" asked Neville.

Hermione gave Neville a look of surprise. "Flying isn't really my thing, but I can ask Ron if he'll go with you."

"That's okay," said Neville, looking down-hearted. "Dean and Seamus are going again, I'll hang out with them."

"Ron loves flying, I'm sure he'd go with you," Hermione started.

Neville just shook his head, "Ron isn't patient."

Ron came down from the boys' dormitory with his bag slung over his shoulder.

"Go with Dean and Seamus," said Hermione, "I'm sure you'll have a good time."

Ginny listened as Neville got up and followed his fellow second-years down to the courtyard for Quidditch Club.

She couldn't believe her luck. So long as Neville stayed for the entire duration of the club, she was guaranteed at least an hour of an empty boys' dormitory.

She quickly headed back up to her own dorm room. She'd already planned an outfit to wear in the boys' tower in case she was seen.

In the safety of her empty dorm, she yanked opened her wardrobe and pulled Colin's red hooded jumper she had placed within easy reach for just such an opportunity. She yanked on a pair of hand-me-down jeans from Bill that were still several sizes too large for her but she had packed and brought to Hogwarts anyway.

They were the only pair of trousers she owned that had never been mended, nor had she ever worn while at school before. They were perfectly ordinary and easily forgettable, aside from being too large. One benefit of them being too large though, was that they covered her trainers.

She yanked her hair into a messy bun and then headed back down to the common room.

"Ten minutes," she whispered to herself. "All I need is ten minutes."

When she opened the door from the staircase leading to the common room she tried her best to seem normal. She wandered over to the notice board near the door leading to the staircase to the boys' dorm rooms.

On the pretense of reading the notice board, she listened for movement and waited until no one was looking her way.

She was just about to dart through the door to the boys' dormitories when it suddenly burst open. Lee Jordan from the twins' fourth-year class came down to the common room.

Ginny quickly turned back to the notice board but Lee seemed to be too preoccupied to notice a first-year.

As the door slowly shut of its own accord behind him, Ginny listened hard for anyone else coming down the stairs.

Just as the door was about to snap shut, Ginny grabbed it and rushed inside. At the bottom of the steps, she immediately pulled up her hood to hide her hair and began making her way up the staircase.

She tripped several times as Bill's hand-me-down Muggle jeans slipped over the toes of her shoes and once she fell landing hard on her knees.

"Ow," she muttered as she bent over to untangle her shoes from the trouser leg. She looked up at the door only a few steps above her and read "first-years" on the plaque.

One more flight, she thought to herself.

She walked past the first-years door and started to hear it open behind her.

Trying to rush up the staircase and get out of sight, she once again managed to trip on the leg of Bill's old jeans.

"Are you okay?" asked a familiar voice behind her. It belonged to Emerson Faulkner.

"Fine," she grunted back.

"Ginny?" he asked curiously.

Ginny let out a sigh of trepidation and slowly turned to face him.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"With Colin gone, you're the only Gryffindor smaller than me," he said with wry smile.

Just then, the door at the bottom of the staircase burst open.

"—do this all the time Ron! You dawdle while Harry's at practice and then you're both behind! Bring it all down this time!"

"Okay, Hermione!" Ron shouted back.

Ginny froze in a panic.

"Shit!" she hissed.

She began to try to make her way back up the staircase and hide in the upper levels until Ron had gone, but Emerson opened the door to the first-years dorm and yanked her inside instead. Ginny pulled her hood tighter and immediately swept a look around the room, but saw no one else.

Emerson made to slam the door shut quickly but at the last second he pushed it shut slowly and quietly so it didn't slam. They listened as Ron lumbered past them, mumbling to himself all the while. When it sounded as though he was safely in the confines of his own dorm, Emerson chanced a question.

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly.

"I need to get something out of my brother's dorm and he can't know!" she breathed.

"Which brother?"

"That brother!" said Ginny glancing up at the ceiling.

"What's your brother got?"

Ginny nearly said "Nothing" that Ron didn't have what she was looking for, but here was a ready-made excuse of someone other than Harry Potter having something of hers.

"There's a book in that room, a book I write in," she finished lamely.

"What like a journal?" Emerson made a face that showed journals were clearly unappealing to him.

"Yes, like a journal."

"What do you write in the journal?"

Ginny gave an exasperated silent sigh and then gave him an incredulous look, "Does it matter?"

Emerson shrugged, "I guess not. Why can't you just ask for it back?"

"Nobody knows it was mine in the first place!"

A devious smile spread across Emerson's face. "Now I get it. Everything's still a secret inside it, isn't it?"

"Hopefully."

They heard voices in the staircase again.

"I thought you were going to go to that Quidditch Club," said Ron quizzically.

"Dean and Seamus are already paired together as a team and nobody really wants to fly with me," answered the anguished voice of Neville. "Your whole family loves Quidditch, why don't you go?"

"None of my brothers did _kiddie_ Quidditch Club before making the House team and neither will I!" said Ron proudly.

They heard Ron stomp back downstairs and Neville's footsteps heading up to the second-years dorm.

"Damn it! Neville's probably never going to leave now!" Ginny silently berated herself for swearing again.

"Your plan was to wait until Neville was busy?" asked Emerson, rolling his eyes.

"Neville is the only one with an unpredictable schedule."

"You've been thinking about this for a while," he commented.

"It's important."

"Fine, you can wait here until he goes downstairs again. I'll keep a lookout for you."

"I can't wait here! What if Blake or Jai or Jasper comes back?" Ginny shook her head, "No, I have to try again another day. Hopefully soon."

"Okay, tomorrow then." Emerson began to dig around in his wardrobe. He pulled out a blue hooded jumper of his own. "I'll make sure everyone in your brother's dorm is distracted and let you know when it's all clear."

"You're . . . going to help me?"

"Have you ever done anything like this before?"

"No."

"Trust me, you need my help."

"Why though?"

"It sounds like fun and besides, what harm can stealing back a journal do?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows, "Fine. Let me know when it's clear to sneak out of here."

"You're not gonna sneak out." He slipped his blue hooded jumper on over his regular one and pulled the hood up. "You're gonna follow me outta here like a normal person and since we'll both have our hoods on, no one will be the wiser. Straight out the door at the bottom of the stairs, and out the portrait hole. Then a few minutes later I'll go back into the common room with my hood still up, but you take your jumper off completely, fold it up and carry it in like you are coming back from Quidditch Club. No one will realize it was you who followed me out. They'll assume it was just another first-year boy."

Ginny was astonished, "How did you come up with a plan so quickly?"

"It's not a plan. It's just walking past people who aren't really paying attention anyway."

Ginny regarded him apprehensively for a moment, _"he knows how to be bad . . . but he has a really good heart."_

"Okay, let's go then." She secured her hood a bit tighter.

"You might want to think about shrinking those trousers before doing this again," muttered Emerson.

"Excuse me for not being an expert," Ginny muttered back.

"It takes time," Emerson grinned.

His plan was executed perfectly. Ginny managed to slip right out the door following in Emerson's wake and out the portrait hole to the corridor outside without a soul giving them a second glance. Instead of Emerson turning around and going back into the common room, they walked down to the courtyard and watched the last bit of time the Club had for flying before heading back up to Gryffindor Tower. Emerson walked back up with the boys and Ginny trailed quietly a short way behind them. Emerson nonchalantly pulled up his hood before going back through the portrait hole and Ginny yanked off Colin's borrowed jumper before going in herself after them.

The next day she spent Potions still at Thaliana and Takara's table where they were learning how to properly brew a Forgetfulness potion. Kindra spent the double period throwing her triumphant dirty looks and glancing in Ash's direction, who continued to work alone at her own table. Today, was different however, Logan and Sterling walked into the dungeon classroom and confidently set up their cauldrons at Ash's table. Ash flicked her gaze back and forth between the two of them with a puzzled expression. Although Ginny had maintained going to Quidditch Club, Logan had stopped asking for her help flying after her fight with Ash in February.

"Ash . . . we don't know what we're doing," said Logan matter-of-factly. Both Logan and Sterling who had been doing progressively worse in class, gave her a piteously, pleading look for help.

Ash gave Logan the smallest smile before quietly saying, "Okay." She set to helping them understand the steps of the potion all the while Kindra had turned her dirty looks from Ginny's direction to instead throwing daggers at Ash for the rest of the period. It seemed that she hadn't been able to win Sterling back after all and now he appeared to be out of her reach for good.

Charms also went by quickly, as they had been practicing all week to make inanimate objects dance. The first-years had spent weeks on the theory and another on wand movements and pronunciation. By the end of the hour nearly everyone had made their teacups tap dance on their desk.

The Gryffindor first-years had Friday afternoons off, so after Charms Ginny and Emerson took advantage of no one else being in the Library at the time.

"We should just go do it now," said Ginny. In her original plan, she had decided on a Friday afternoon, knowing the second-years would still be in class, and if they didn't go today they would have to wait a week.

"No way," replied Emerson. "If your brother reports anything, it would be obvious that it was a first-year and then the teachers would question us all one by one until everyone figured out that nobody knew where either you or I were."

Ginny hadn't thought about that.

"Tell me what you know about their schedules."

"It's Friday, Harry has Quidditch practice and that's it. There's no Quidditch Club so Dean and Seamus have no reason to be away from Gryffindor Tower, Ron will be wherever Hermione is, and Neville is completely unpredictable."

"Okay, so one down, four to go."

"Three, Ron spends almost zero time in his dorm room. Unless Hermione sends him upstairs for the rest of his homework again."

"So we get rid of the other three and find a reason to keep Ron with Hermione."

"Ron likes to talk about his exploits last year with Harry and Hermione. Get him started on a story and Dean, Seamus, and Neville will sit and listen for hours, the whole common room will."

"Done," said Emerson, passing her his blue hooded jumper. "I'll ask a question that'll start Ron on a retelling and when everyone is looking the other way I'll check the stairwell and sneak you up."

"What if it doesn't work? What if someone notices us since we're the only ones moving around during his story?"

"That's the point. They will notice, but because nobody will be suspecting anything they'll just forget anyway. Do you memorize exactly where everyone walks around in the common room?"

"No."

"Neither does anybody else. The best way to trick a person is to do it when they think they are paying attention. Then they don't actually believe you tricked them."

"What if they talk about it afterwards?"

"Let them spill the information that they know to you and talk about that only. Don't give them anything they don't know already. Pretend you don't know anything about it and steer them away from sniffing to closely."

"You mean blame somebody else?"

"No, just be vague."

"Okay."

Feeling quite a bit calmer at the prospects of her second attempt at getting to the diary, Ginny turned to pick up her bag, stuffed the jumper inside it, and headed to the common room to wait for Emerson's signal.

"Ginny?" She turned to look back. "Remember to shrink the trousers."

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Got it."

Later that evening she was sitting in the common room doing her homework near Richelle, Charlotte, and Takara, listening to Thaliana go over Transfiguration theory. Emerson sat a few tables away with Jai and Jasper, and Blake was at the table next to them by himself. Hermione was surrounded by her usual pile of books and Ron was heading towards her with his bag slung over his shoulder. Harry and the twins were at Quidditch practice and Percy was presumably out somewhere hanging out with Penelope. Neville appeared downstairs a few seconds after Ron and settled at a table near Hermione's and right on cue Dean and Seamus brought down their homework to work on as well.

Ginny caught Emerson's eye, now was as good of an opportunity as they were going to get.

"Hey Ron," said Emerson loudly, "Do you remember all of the moves exactly that happened during the giant chess game when you and Harry and Hermione went after the Sorcerer's Stone?" Emerson had such an eager expression on his face, that Ginny for a moment thought it was real.

Ron lit up immediately took the cue to get the spotlight in the common room as all heads turned in his direction. Hermione put her pen down and rested her chin in her hand, Neville glued his eyes to Ron's face, and both Dean and Seamus sank from their chairs to the floor a few feet away from Ron and Hermione's table as though it were story time in the common room.

Emerson let Ron get about a minute into his story and when people began interrupting to get clarification on parts of the recital, he got up and walked calmly towards the staircase door that led to the boys' dormitories. A moment later he came back and ever so slightly nodded in Ginny's direction.

"I've heard this story a million times," Ginny muttered under her breath to her fellow Gryffindor girls, but it was to no avail. Not one of them seemed to notice her get up to leave. She headed to the girls' bathroom and pulled on the borrowed blue hooded jumper from Emerson. She again wandered over to the notice board and after seemingly studying it for about ten seconds she pulled up the hood to hide her hair and the side of her face while everyone was staring in the other direction at her brother and slipped through the door to boys' stairwell.

She had made sure to shrink Bill's old jeans this time and managed to hurry up the steps to the door marked second-years with zero stumbling. She burst into the empty room yanked open the nearest trunk. It was filled with Ron's stuff. She glanced left and right, knowing Harry more than likely bunked in a bed next to Ron.

She picked one side and opened the trunk at the foot of the bed.

"Aha!" she whispered. She had found the green Weasley sweater her mum had knit for Harry. She began to dig through his trunk pushing aside clothes and parchment. She couldn't find the little black book anywhere. She knew she had limited time and threw caution to the wind.

She began chucking clothes onto Harry's bed after checking the pockets. She turned his trunk on its side and spilled the contents so she could see everything. It wasn't in there. Remembering how she used to hide the diary under her pillow she rounded on Harry's bedding. She pulled back the sheets and ripped off his pillow cases. She undid the perfectly tucked corners on the sides of the foot of his bed and felt between the mattress and the box spring. She checked the curtain rails for his four-posters, dug through the drawers in his night stand.

Finally, she threw herself onto the floor to look beneath his bed, by now she was hoping he hadn't taken it to Quidditch practice with him. Under the bed was completely empty save for one thing: his book bag.

"Score!" she breathed to herself. She dragged out his bag and looking around at the mess she'd already made, simply upended the entire thing. All of the contents spilled out onto the floor next the bed where she was seated after having sat up.

Herbology, Transfiguration, and a few of Lockhart's books had been in his bag. She pushed at them so they weren't all lying on top of one another and there it was, wedged between _Year with the Yetti_ and _Break with a Banshee_.

Ginny snatched up the diary and pulled out her wand, about to magically put everything away when she heard a distinct cough from the corridor. Emerson's warning.

She got up, yanked her hood back over her head and dashed out of the dormitory. She ran down the steps two at a time and was almost at the bottom when she saw Emerson's face, "Up! Up!" he hissed. They raced up to the first-years' dorm and Emerson shut the door behind them once more.

"It's your brother!"

" _Ron?_ " asked Ginny. Her heart was still racing from looking for the diary, she wasn't ready to hear about Harry's belongings being ransacked yet.

"No, the other one. Not one of the twins."

Ginny let out a breath of relief. "Percy. He won't notice anything, not if he didn't see me."

Emerson stuck his head into the staircase when they heard Percy's footsteps dying away. "Be right back," he disappeared. Ginny held the door open a crack to listen. "Clear!" she heard Emerson call softly. Ginny bit her lip.

"What are you waiting for?" hissed Emerson.

"I left it a mess in there! They're gonna know I was in there!"

"Too late now!" said Emerson desperately.

Emerson was right, she decided. Her chance to get out clean was now. Ginny exited the first-years dorm quietly and checking her hood was secure once more she quickly padded down the steps and out the door.

Over by the notice board she chanced a glance towards Ron and saw that everyone was still riveted by his recounting of what had happened at the end of the year last year.

"Take the jumper off while nobody is looking," urged Emerson from the corner of his mouth. Ginny wriggled out of it and dumped it on the small table under the notice board. Emerson let a few seconds go by before scooping it up and stuffing it into his bag he had left sitting by the small table.

"Please tell me you got it," murmured Emerson.

Ginny nodded solemnly.

"Good, go back to your table and don't be quiet or evasive, just sit down normally."

Ginny threw him a dirty look. Growing up with Ron and the twins she was quite adept at acting casual when she knew incriminating information. Her heart was only racing from being the one doing the incriminating this time.

She walked with the book back to the table with the other first-year girls. She could already feel the emotional pull from the diary and could recognize it for what it was now. The diary was draining her energy already just being in close proximity to her. She had to get rid of it fast and this time for good but first she had to find out how much damage Tom caused with Harry.

Ron was in the throes of explaining how he had realized he'd needed to sacrifice himself and was going on and on about Harry and Hermione begging him not to. Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's reenactment but the rest of the Gryffindors were listening rapturously.

Neville, one moment transfixed, the next living up to his wild card persona, went upstairs just before the Quidditch team came in from outside. Ginny watched as the team also went upstairs where Harry would undoubtedly be met by a thoroughly shocked Neville. Ron finished his retelling and he got up to follow Dean and Seamus upstairs; they all wanted to talk to Harry about what happened after the chess match last year.

Ginny slipped up to her own dormitory. Many of the other students had also packed up their books and gone to bed after Ron finished talking but Hermione had simply piled hers together and leaned back to read _Ancient Runes Made Easy_ in anticipation of taking the class next year.

Already full of guilt and not wanting to be anywhere near the common room when the boys would surely come back down, Ginny set to working on writing an essay about the Warlocks Convention of 1709 for History of Magic while lying on her bed. She had her books spread out across her mattress and was writing out a short conclusion when Thaliana, Takara, Charlotte, and Richelle finally trudged upstairs a few hours later.

"I just don't see why we had to keep going so late tonight," grumbled Charlotte.

Ginny impatiently listened for news of the break in, surely at least Charlotte and Richelle would have something to say about it in the safety of their dormitory.

"It's Quidditch tomorrow," said Thaliana airily. "We're playing Hufflepuff and Gryffindor is in the running for the Quidditch Cup. If we win we'll win the cup and the common room will be one big party for the rest of the night. Finishing everything tonight completely frees us for tomorrow."

Both Charlotte and Richelle swung their heads around to stare at Thaliana with hopeful eyes.

"No schedule tomorrow?" asked Richelle. "No quizzes at breakfast? No Quidditch facts on the way to the game? No commentary during the game so we can actually hear Lee Jordan? No analyzing the game afterwards pointing out each teams' faults during their play? No talk on the way back after the game is over about what subjects we are behind in studying for?"

"No."

Richelle narrowed her eyes at Thaliana, "No 'fun' study inquiries fired at us unexpectedly at the after party, because it's Hufflepuff and we're going to win obviously, and those unexpected trivia rounds really put a damper on the mood when the common room is having a party."

"Gryffindor is in the running for the Quidditch Cup," said Thaliana simply. "That changes everything." She turned to look at Ginny, "Are you doing okay over there? I can help you with any questions after the game tomorrow."

"No homework tomorrow, Thaliana! You just promised!" Richelle had been in the midst of getting into bed but paused to stare her down.

"No homework for _us_ ," Thaliana amended. "We're ahead."

"It's okay," said Ginny, more to stop their argument than anything else. "I'm done now." She wrote out the last few words of her conclusion and blew on the ink to dry it quicker, then she put it away while listening to Richelle and Charlotte giggle about which Quidditch team had the best-looking players to watch.

If they were giggling about boys on the Quidditch teams, then the second-year boys must not have told the common room what had happened in outrage. Harry either hasn't yet realized the diary was missing, or he'd figured out how to work it and didn't want to report it missing. Either way this was good news for Ginny. She'd rather only Harry searching for the diary than the whole of Gryffindor Tower.

She waited until the other girls fell asleep. She was anxious and nervous but also determined and confident. She had already managed to kick Tom out of her mind once, surely she would be able to do so again now that she knew how. Nevertheless, she needed to know what secrets Tom had spilled while the diary wasn't in her possession. She made a flicking motion at her candle beside her bed and pulled the diary out of her bag after it lit.

"I don't know how you found Harry, but I took you back," she began without preamble.

" _Miss Weasley."_

" _We meet again."_

"No time for bullshit Tom! _What did you tell Harry?_ "

" _Language, Miss Weasley. How interesting . . . You are trying to block me out."_

"Did Harry figure out how to talk to you Tom?"

" _Your efforts aren't really working you know. . ."_

" _I know you far too well now."_

" _For instance, I can see that you are afraid I've told him all your secrets."_

Even though Ginny couldn't see Tom, she could feel him grin at his next thought.

" _Pathetic girl."_

" _Your paltry secrets are safe . . . Harry and I had more important matters to discuss."_

" _WHAT DID YOU TELL HIM TOM?"_ Ginny knew she shouldn't get emotional. She knew that wouldn't get her a straight answer, but she didn't seem able to help herself.

 _I only showed him who was caught setting a monster loose in Hogwarts the last time the Heir of Slytherin was at large._

Ginny had no response. The words hadn't appeared on the page. Instead, she'd heard the voice of young Tom Riddle in her mind, as clearly as though he had been standing next to her.

"What's happening?" Ginny whispered aloud.

 _Everything you've confided in me has done naught but feed me, dear Miss Weasley. Every secret, every hope, every dream. Every fear, every betrayal, every frustration. Every single outburst of anger has made me stronger. Strong enough, to do this:_

There was no haze, no box, no earsplitting sounds. Only blackness, and then nothing.

: : : : :

Ginny woke hours later.

It was late Saturday morning and once again she found herself staring into a mirror in the girls' bathroom on the second floor.

Moaning Myrtle drifted in through a wall. "You better catch up, everyone is supposed to go back to their dormitories." She said the words sternly again and Ginny could hear what sounded like hundreds of footsteps heading up the Grand Staircase.

"What time is it?" she wondered out loud.

" _TIME?_ " shrieked Moaning Myrtle. "As if time is relevant to me anymore!"

She flew to her stall and with a great splash sent water all over the floor and then her sobs became muffled as she went to her U-bend.

Ginny looked around, the diary was nowhere in sight. She patted the pockets of her robes and found it in an inside pocket. She didn't have time to dwell on it, but she thought the emotional energy drain she normally felt was somehow diminished.

As she hurried out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom she realized that she hadn't heard a voice whispering for her to forget. That's it then, she thought as she melded into the crowd heading to Gryffindor Tower. Tom Riddle can never be written to again, he's too powerful now. She swore to herself she would never open the diary again and would find a way to destroy it for good.

Instead of asking questions about why everyone was heading to the common room, Ginny took a page out of Emerson's book and waited for information to come to her. As she sat at a study table with the rest of the first-year girls she didn't have to wait long while the rest of the Gryffindors climbed through the portrait hole one by one.

Last to come into the common room was the Gryffindor Quidditch team, oddly still in their team robes. Oliver was fuming, the twins looked irritated, and the Chasers Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet, all had worried expressions on their faces.

Ginny glanced at the large clock in the common room. It was only a few minutes after eleven, the match should have just started. She desperately wanted to ask what happened because nobody was celebrating but nobody seemed to be upset either. It wasn't exactly quiet, but at the same time it felt like everyone was waiting for the same information Ginny was waiting for.

She looked around again and realized a team member was missing. Harry was nowhere in sight and with another quick glance around the common room she noticed that Ron and Hermione were missing as well. Suddenly, what had been a sinking feeling in her stomach turned ominous.

Hours had gone by since she had begun writing to Tom in the diary late last night. Her heart began to race and it took every ounce of her will power to keep her breathing normalized.

Finally, Professor McGonagall came in through the portrait hole and right behind her scrambled Harry and then Ron. The murmuring in the common room quieted immediately.

"I regret to inform you all that there has been another attack, another double attack."

"Who were they?"

Ginny swung her head around to see her brother Fred had stood up suddenly.

"This morning, we found the Petrified forms of our own Miss Hermione Granger and a Ravenclaw, Miss Penelope Clearwater." Ginny's heart sank as an image of each girl popped into her mind at the mention of their names.

Oliver Wood rubbed his face with one hand as though he were tired. "They were Petrified? So we can wake them in a few weeks' time? When are we rescheduling Quidditch?"

Professor McGonagall threw a withering glance in Oliver's direction and he had the decency to look away in shame, "I'm getting to that, Mr. Wood." She pulled a rolled piece of parchment from her cloak pocket.

" **All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities."**

 **The Gryffindors packed inside the common room listened to Professor McGonagall in silence. She rolled up the parchment from which she had been reading and said in a somewhat choked voice, "I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward."**

 **She climbed somewhat awkwardly out of the portrait hole, and the Gryffindors began talking immediately.**

" **That's two Gryffindors down, not counting a Gryffindor ghost, one Ravenclaw, and one Hufflepuff," said the twins' friend Lee Jordan, counting on his fingers. "Haven't** _ **any**_ **of the teachers noticed that the Slytherins are all safe? Isn't it** _ **obvious**_ **all this stuff's coming from Slytherin? The** _ **Heir**_ **of Slytherin, the** _ **monster**_ **of Slytherin — why don't they just chuck out all the Slytherins?" he roared, to nods and scattered applause. (** **1)**

Ginny flicked her gaze in Percy's direction. He had been frozen since the mention of Penny's name and what little color he had had receded from his face. He seemed to shrink back into the safety of the chair he was sitting in.

"That must be why Harry and Ron were whisked away when Professor McGonagall came outside to announce the match had been cancelled," whispered Charlotte. Richelle nodded in agreement.

That's the last bit of my missing time then, thought Ginny. Somehow, Tom had managed to take full possession of her for the few hours leading up to the Quidditch match and had successfully attacked both Hermione and Penelope, but once again he'd failed to kill.

He's never going to kill again Ginny decided. She marched upstairs to her dorm room, chucked the diary into a drawer in the nightstand next to her bed while the connection between them was only tenuous, and removed everything else from it so she wouldn't have a need to open it again. Then she spelled the drawer locked.

The energy-draining emotional pull she normally felt around the diary seemed weak since she'd woken and now she was sure it was because Tom in the diary had exhausted the reserve he'd managed to siphon from her. Not knowing when he would be at full power again she wanted to take precautions.

She felt confident that Tom wouldn't be able to break the locking spell without a wand and her fellow Gryffindors weren't the sort to rifle through each other's stuff. Locking him in gave her a sense of peace she'd hadn't known since realizing Harry had possession of the diary back on Valentine's Day.

Quotes:

(1) CoS Pages 257-258 *I omitted the word _Weasley_ when referring to Lee Jordan as the twins' friend because from Ginny's point of view he is the twins' friend and not one of the _Weasley_ twins' friend as she is a Weasley.


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Cold Candor

Chapter Fifteen: Cold Candor and Puzzling Potions

 _Dear Mum,_

 _I know it's been ages since I've written home._

 _Classes have been fine and I've been getting through my homework okay. The school year is almost over and I can't wait because that means Colin will be woken up at last!_

 _I haven't been able to see him for some time now. Ever since the attack on Hermione and that Ravenclaw girl, Madam Pomfrey hasn't let any visitors enter the hospital wing._

 _The Gryffindor common room is packed every night now that nobody is allowed to leave after dinner, but it's also the quietest I've ever seen it. I think everyone is still in shock since we've lost a third Gryffindor._

 _Ron, Harry, and even the twins seem to be taking our shut-in poorly. I think Harry and the twins are very upset that they lost their chance to win the Quidditch Cup and Ron snaps at people who ask too many questions about Hermione._

Ginny paused. She wanted to write about Percy but even though he never held up his end of their bargain, she wasn't ready to divulge his secret romance quite yet. Not in the wake of Penelope's recent Petrification.

 _Even Percy has been upset. The girl who was petrified with Hermione was a prefect and I think that's unnerved him a bit._

 _There's quite a bit of talk going around about their attack. People have finally stopped thinking that Harry is the Heir even though he can speak Parseltongue. Now there is whispering that Draco Malfoy is the Heir, since he's been gloating about Hermione's attack._

 _I think most people believe that it's been Hagrid this whole time though. He was arrested the same night they suspended Professor Dumbledore from being Headmaster and there are rumors going around that Hagrid's arrest has something to do with the Chamber of Secrets being opened before._

 _Mom it can't be true! There's no proof that it was him. Not this time and not last time! Not one person in Gryffindor believes this stuff about Hagrid or Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall is filling in, but you can see that it's taking a toll on her to both teach and be Headmistress._

 _I wish I could tell you what's going on in the other Houses but I haven't talked to Ash since the Valentine's Day incident and with the curfew and teachers escorting us to classes I don't get to see anyone from the other Houses much at all._

 _I've been hanging out quite a bit with the other Gryffindor girls in my year and some of the older students as well. Fred and George's friend Lee Jordan is much funnier when the twins aren't gone to Quidditch practice every night. They let me sit and play exploding snap with them, after Thaliana Cassidy has made sure all of us girls are caught up on our homework of course._

 _I suppose I've caught you up on everything going on here. Thaliana is already planning study sessions to prepare for the end of the year exams, which were originally supposed to take place in the library with the first-years from other Houses but she's had to change plans with the new curfew._

 _Anyway, give Dad my best!_

 _Love always, Ginny_

It seemed Ginny had gotten a letter from her mum nearly every other day since the most recent attack. _"If the Heir is willing to go after Harry Potter's best friend, what's to stop him from going after you!"_ There was also, _"Stick close to your brothers, Ginny. Don't go anywhere alone!"_ Not to mention, _"I never thought much of your friend Ash anyhow. After all she's a Burke and that family has caused Bill nothing but strife at work every day! Colin will be woken in no time and you'll forget all about that Slytherin girl."_

She knew her reply letter was unreasonably lengthy, but she had wanted to write one that would put her mum at ease and so that poor Errol, the family owl, could catch a break. In truth however, Ginny was worried. She had tried a few times to open the drawer and light the diary on fire but whenever the drawer was opened she could feel the strength of the diary pulling on her consciousness. The intensity of the pull grew stronger every day, confirming Ginny's suspicions that Tom's energy waned while he was actually possessing her and that it took time to regain his strength by sapping it from Ginny.

Attempting a simple Fire-Making Spell while battling the pull to open the diary proved very difficult and whenever Ginny was successful, the resulting fire did no damage whatsoever. Riddle must've made his diary impervious to small spells and the natural elements.

Ginny pulled an envelope from her bag and carefully penned the address of the Burrow on it for her mother.

No, she thought, if she couldn't find a simple spell soon to get rid of the diary permanently she would be forced to ask somebody for help.

She sealed he envelope and walked it over to the letter drop box Professor McGonagall had had installed so the students wouldn't need an escort all the way to the owlery.

"You lied to me."

Ginny started. Emerson Faulkner cornered her in the relative quiet near the owlery box.

"You told me your brother had something of yours and that's why you needed to get into his room. But it wasn't your brother, was it? You stole something from Harry Potter. Was it even a journal?"

Ginny felt abashed. She didn't know what to say, she just stood there with her mouth hanging slightly open. She tried to shake her head no, tried to stutter out some sort of response but seeing his gray eyes look so accusing froze her on the spot.

"So, it's true, isn't it? I mean, it wasn't hard to put together. I get you into 'your brother's room' and later I hear Dean and Seamus discussing who might've ransacked Harry Potter's stuff. You could've just told me the truth up front you know."

"I . . . I . . . I" Ginny lowered eyes to the floor and mumbled, "I never said it was my brother who had what I was looking for."

Ginny chanced looking up at him and he just slowly shook his head back and forth in silent disappointment.

"I expect half-truths from the people where I came from before Hogwarts, not from you."

"I'm sorry, but Em, please don't say anything! Nobody can know."

Emerson turned from disappointed to what could only be called scathing, "I'm not a narc. But do me a favor, and next time you want to creepily stalk your crush, leave me out of it."

He turned on his heel and strode away before Ginny could stammer out an objection.

She slammed her letter into the owlery box. This was just one more bit of backlash from confiding in Ash her feelings about Harry and not making sure Ash got rid of that poem. She grabbed her book bag and stomped upstairs to prepare and pack for Potions tomorrow.

The next morning the Gryffindors trudged down to the dungeons for Potions and found the door to their normal classroom was closed and locked. Tacked to the door on a small scroll of parchment was a message:

ALL POTIONS LESSONS IN DUNGEON 2 TODAY

The first-years glanced among themselves for only a moment before Blake Sullivan listlessly turned and began making his way to the next classroom down the hall. The rest of the class followed in his wake and found the Slytherins already set up at what would be their usual tables as the classrooms were organized similarly.

Near the desk where Professor Snape would sit when class began was an ornate cauldron bubbling away unpleasantly with a matching ornate ladle laying by its side, occasionally it's sickly orange froth could be seen over the lip.

Ginny set her cauldron up at Thaliana and Takara's table. It had been over three months since Ash had pranked her and sent Harry a singing valentine.

Logan and Sterling joined Ash at her table once again, their marks still needing improvement. Sometimes Ginny would catch Ash glancing over at her with a sorrowful look, but as soon as she realized Ginny was gazing in her direction, Ash's eyes would go hard and she'd turn angrily away.

Today was no different. Except now she was getting resentful looks from both Ash and Emerson from his table with Jai and Jasper. Kindra Avery glanced between them and other than raising one eyebrow with a smug smile, didn't say a word. She did lean over and whisper conspiringly with Gwendelyn however. Ginny rolled her eyes and turned back to her own cauldron.

Professor Snape charged into the classroom.

"Quiet. As you should all be aware, next Friday is our last lesson before exams begin." He said nothing about the potion bubbling grimly near his desk and nobody dared to ask.

Ginny looked around at her classmates, most of whom had perplexed looks on their faces. The only people who didn't seem surprised were Thaliana, Blake, and Ash. Takara's expression was unreadable but since she hung out with Thaliana so much, Ginny assumed she wasn't surprised either.

Professor Snape assigned them the Forgetfulness Potion and the list of steps and ingredients appeared on the board. Ginny noticed the ingredients included Mistletoe berries which were only available in the student store cupboard on the other side of the classroom.

Normally, Takara jumped up to fetch ingredients from the student store cupboard but Thaliana had her paused from potion prepping to go over her study schedule for the upcoming exams.

Ginny scooted back her stool at their table and walked over to the cupboard and got in line behind Emerson who pointedly looked anywhere but in her direction. In the corner of her eye she saw Kindra lean over and whisper to Gwendelyn with a slight nod of her head in Ash's direction. Gwendelyn's eyes widened but she took a deep breath, nodded, squared her shoulders, then walked purposefully over to Ash. Emerson finished gathering Mistletoe berries for his table and Ginny moved forward to get some for hers.

"FOR THE HUNDRETH TIME, NO!"

Ginny froze, then she slowly peeked over her shoulder. Ash was glaring at Gwendelyn while yelling at her at the top of her lungs.

"Ash," began Gwen.

"I. AM. A. BURKE! I don't need _your_ invitation! Get away from my stuff!" Ash gathered everything within arm's length of Gwendelyn away from her and began to cram it pell-mell into her bag.

Professor Snape glanced up from his desk, "If I don't have quiet in my classroom now, everyone will serve detention after exams are over."

Ash stood and bored her eyes up at Gwendelyn's taller frame. Ginny quickly scooped Mistletoe berries while she watched Ash turn her frostiest glare on Gwen, who quickly melted. The taller girl scurried back to Kindra who was seething with dissatisfaction with Gwen's results.

Ash stormed over to the student cupboard for her table but came to a screeching halt when she realized she was going to come within close proximity of Ginny. She opened her mouth as though she were going to say something but glanced over towards Kindra and Gwendelyn and closed it again with a sneer. She stepped aside to make room for Ginny to go back to Thaliana's table. Confused and curious Ginny meekly walked past Ash. She didn't want to raise her ire again.

While everyone was busy brewing their Forgetfulness Potion, Professor Snape glanced at the large clock in the classroom. At precisely twelve minutes after ten he approached the mysterious cauldron, dipped its matching ladle inside, and stirred the contents exactly three times counter-clockwise.

Normally, this would have been where Ginny would've asked Ash what she thought about the cauldron and Ash would've given her best guess. Chancing a glance in Ash's direction, sure enough she too was watching Professor Snape. When he'd finished stirring and carefully laid the ladle back down, Ash gave a slight nod, indicating she'd figured something out.

"You think that's the potion to wake up the Petrified people?" Logan asked Ash and Sterling. He spoke quietly but his inquiry still carried easily across the hushed room.

Ash nodded. "I think he's keeping it steeped until they can add the Mandrakes."

Ash looked in Ginny's direction and Ginny caught herself giving Ash a small smile at their shared thought of getting Colin back before she remembered the valentine and immediately turned her gaze away and instead concentrated on only her potion for the rest of the double period.

Professor Flitwick didn't mention anything about exams, but as the Gryffindors met for that class every day Ginny didn't expect him to start reviewing until next week.

She felt very confident about her Charms exam. It was her best class. She felt she would do well in Herbology too as most of the plants they'd studied that year were in her mum's garden at home, and if Professor Lockhart's exam was going to be based on his books, she already knew each of those flawlessly from her investigation of him.

That left Potions, Transfiguration, History of Magic, and Astronomy. She did okay in those classes but Ginny decided she should join Thaliana's study groups for those subjects nevertheless.

The weekend passed uneventfully and the following Monday all the Professors had stressed the importance of preparing for exams.

Ginny headed upstairs to fetch her Transfiguration notes to aid her in Thaliana's study group for Tuesday's Transfiguration lesson.

Today was the first time she could feel the pull of Riddle's diary outside the door to her dormitory. Opening it she felt an overwhelming desire to break the spell on her locked nightstand.

That pull was getting harder to ignore as Riddle bided his time and siphoned her energy bit by bit whenever she was near the diary. If Riddle got much stronger she worried she would have to either move the diary or find somewhere else to sleep for the remainder of term.

She resolutely turned her thoughts away from what was in the drawer of her nightstand to search for her Transfiguration notes.

 _I know you're here, Miss Weasley. You know I'm getting stronger. You_ will _free me from this prison, one way or another. It's only a matter of time. . ._

Ginny snatched her books and parchment off her shelf and bolted from the room. Last time he was powerful enough to speak directly into her mind, he'd been powerful enough to take her over.

After Thaliana's study round, Ginny didn't want to go upstairs only to hear Riddle's voice in her head again. Instead, she sat near the twins who were playing exploding snap with Ron and Harry. She wasn't really paying attention to their games but her half-hearted attempt to just fall asleep in the common room was interrupted by Fred and George, and eventually even Ron, hinting at writing home to Mum about her staying awake all hours of the night if she didn't head to up to her dormitory.

Reluctantly, she trudged over to the door that opened to the staircase that led to the girls' dormitories. She quietly opened the door marked first-years and found all the other girls had already fallen asleep. Riddle however was very much awake.

After spending another hour awake listening to him mutter, she felt confident that muttering was all he was capable of and finally let herself drift off to sleep. It seemed he couldn't possess her from inside the nightstand.


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Riddle At Last

Chapter Sixteen: Riddle At Last

Talkative as Riddle was, Ginny learned to ignore his sinister comments issuing from within the nightstand. He made threats about her roommates, her brothers, and most especially about Harry Potter. He would chatter endlessly in her mind about all the ways he planned to get rid of Harry using Ginny as a scapegoat.

Occasionally, Ginny would catch herself wondering if Tom would've been making these horrendous plans on some other unsuspecting boy if Ginny had shown interest in someone else. Whenever she realized Tom was listening to her thoughts though, she would try to block him out, but he never answered that particular unconscious question. Instead he would merely laugh under his breath as though there were some joke that Ginny was not in on.

The last week of lessons passed painfully slow. Finally, it was Friday morning. Thaliana was sitting at her desk brushing her hair while going over her proposed study schedule for that afternoon following morning classes. Ginny was checking her bag to make sure she had this week's essay to turn in for Potions. Professor Flitwick had already collected their last bit of homework and they were going to spend their final hour reviewing some of the trickier aspects of charming objects.

Without realizing she was doing it, Ginny leaned over and quietly whispered, _"Alohomora!"_ She casually reached into her nightstand drawer and placed Riddle's diary in her bag along with the rest of her notes and books.

The other girls in her dorm finished getting ready for the day and rose to go down to the common room. Ginny mechanically got up to trail after them. They headed down to breakfast together and after they sat down at the Gryffindor table Ginny furled her eyebrows. She flicked her eyes around the Great Hall before narrowing them and realized she only vaguely remembered following the other girls from her dorm down to breakfast. She got an unsettled feeling in her stomach and tried to soothe it by eating a simple breakfast of porridge and toast.

Professor McGonagall stood up to make an announcement.

" **I have good news," she said, and the Great Hall, instead of falling silent, erupted.**

" **Dumbledore's coming back!" several people yelled joyfully.**

" **You've caught the Heir of Slytherin!" squealed a girl at the Ravenclaw table.**

" **Quidditch matches are back on!" roared Wood excitedly.**

 **When the hubbub subsided, Professor McGonagall said, "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching the culprit." (** **1)**

Ginny froze.

 **There was an explosion of cheering. (** **2)**

In the chaos of her falling out with Ash, retrieving the diary from Harry, exams, and trying to keep Tom out of her thoughts every night while she was in her dormitory, she had completely forgotten that waking the Petrified victims could possibly result in one of them pointing their finger at her as the person behind all the attacks. Her plan to let the victims wake up and to simply destroy the diary without anyone the wiser with no more harm or foul, was dashed in an instant.

She had been so looking forward to Colin and the others waking up that she hadn't saved a single thought for what would happen after.

She made an impulse decision.

She still had the diary. Harry knows how to work it, he'll believe her. She glanced down the Gryffindor table and saw Ron and Harry scowling at Malfoy, who was sitting in a group of Slytherins who were not cheering over Professor McGonagall's news.

She got up, walked over, and sat down beside Ron. It was now or never she thought. She felt the blood drain from her face. She felt the same reservations to speak in front of Harry as she'd felt over the summer and she tried to squash those reservations down as best as she could.

" **What's up?" said Ron, helping himself to more porridge.**

 **Ginny didn't say anything, but glanced up and down the Gryffindor table with a scared look on her face.**

" **Spit it out," said Ron, watching her. (** **3)**

She realized she was rocking back and forth and couldn't seem to stop herself. She was twisting her hands together in an effort not to clamp them over her stomach, which was currently doing flip flops.

" **I've got to tell you something," Ginny mumbled, carefully not looking at Harry.**

" **What is it?" said Harry. (** **4)**

Where does she begin? How could she possibly tell them everything when they had to leave for lessons in a few minutes?

" _ **What?"**_ **said Ron.**

 **Ginny opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Harry leaned forward and spoke quietly, so that only Ginny and Ron could hear him.**

" **Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets? Have you seen something? Someone acting oddly?"**

 **Ginny drew a deep breath and, at that precise moment, Percy appeared, looking tired and wan.**

" **If you've finished eating, I'll take that seat Ginny. I'm starving, I've only just come off patrol duty."**

 **Ginny jumped up as though her chair had been electrified, gave Percy a fleeting, frightened look, and scampered away. (** **5)**

She made her way quickly down to the dungeons and headed to her normal classroom where the note directing them to Dungeon 2 was still pinned to a locked door. She turned on her heel and walked to the next classroom.

She was the first student to arrive and the first to have her cauldron set up. She had completely forgotten about students needing an escort. The same mysterious cauldron from last week was still bubbling away in the corner; still a sickly orange color.

Gwendelyn was the next person to arrive and she looked startled at first to see Ginny there ahead of her. She immediately threw her stuff on Kindra's table. She peered in Ginny's direction and looked like she was going to say something but thought better of it and looked away again. She went through the motions of setting up her own cauldron and afterwards she squared her shoulders and walked purposefully to Ginny's table.

She paused on the other side of the table, facing Ginny but she didn't say anything. It appeared as though Gwendelyn was afraid to start, Ginny was about to reassure her when she finally spoke.

"So, you get to see Colin later!"

Ginny furled her eyebrows. That wasn't a topic that should have made Gwendelyn hesitant.

"Are you excited?"

"Yeah," Ginny dragged out the word. She didn't think this was the conversation Gwendelyn had intended to have when she marched over.

Gwendelyn looked down in defeat.

"Look, I came over here because I have to tell you something—" They were interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the corridor.

"Never mind!" Gwendelyn mumbled frantically, just before she spun around and flew back to her seat behind her cauldron.

The rest of the Slytherins herded in through the door and not far behind them came the Gryffindors, all escorted by Professor Snape.

They turned in their homework and instead of making one final potion, Professor Snape had them practicing some of the more difficult aspects of potion prepping. He'd set them all to cutting roots in perfectly equal sizes. They had to grind bits of ram's horn into the proper fineness, not too powdery and not too grainy. They were once again set to the difficult task of de-seeding Mistletoe berries.

Professor Snape's lecture revolved around the ability to hone their skills in prep work which would not only be paramount for their upcoming exams but after this year would be a given requirement for all future Potions lessons through their O.W.L.s and well into their N.E.W.T.s if they made it that far.

Ginny was half-way finished with shredding her roots when Emerson walked by to retrieve Mistletoe berries for Jai, Jasper, and himself. He hadn't said a word to Ginny since calling her a liar at the owlery box, which she knew she one-hundred percent deserved, and yet he paused next to her on his way back.

"I'm really happy Colin's coming back tonight. We all are," he indicated himself, the boys at his table, and even Blake gave a nod of assent.

"Thank you," replied Ginny in a small voice, looking back down at her shredding. So far, Emerson had been true to his word and hadn't said anything about Ginny ransacking Harry's things.

Emerson tightened his mouth almost into a smile, "We're releasing the foal this weekend. Saturday evening, if you want to be there."

Ginny looked up into his grey eyes.

"Professor Kettleburn said to invite you," he turned his head in Ash's direction, "and her."

"Okay."

"Are you going to talk to her, or should I?"

"I'll do it," said Ginny, more sharply than she'd intended.

"Okay then," said Emerson, almost as sharply.

Ginny concentrated on being gentler. "Okay. And I'm really glad Colin's coming back too."

Emerson smiled in the corner of his mouth, "Maybe he'll keep you outta trouble."

Kindra bumped Rydia with her elbow playfully and said in a carrying voice, "I'm really glad Colin's coming back too. I wonder who he's going to pick? Weasley? Or Burke?"

Ana Lucia Vasquez and Rydia Nolen both laughed with Kindra.

Ginny felt her anger start to boil. She looked over at Ash, whose eyes were blazing with loathness for Kindra and her minions.

: : : : :

She didn't know how she managed to get through the rest of the lesson, but try as she might she couldn't get her anger from Kindra's comment under control. She wound up turning in imperfectly powered ram's horn, slightly warped roots, and Mistletoe berries once again over mashed after she'd tried de-seeding them. When Professor Snape looked over her handiwork she wondered if she'd even received a pass score for the day, which in turn seemed to just fuel her anger more.

She hastily threw her ingredients into storage containers where they would eventually become part of the school store cupboards for anyone to use, tossed her prepping utensils into her cauldron, and snatched up her bag.

That's when she felt it.

He'd been so quiet, the pull had been so insubstantial up until that moment that she hadn't detected it at all but now it crashed into her so hard she thought she might fall over and faint.

She yanked open her bag and there it was. The diary. He'd been sitting in there this whole time, feeding off her rollercoaster emotions all morning.

That explained why she couldn't let go of her anger towards Kindra. Once he'd felt it, he latched on and it gave him the best foothold of control he could muster.

Her classmates were queueing up at the door and Ginny went to stand at the front. She was fighting for control and she wanted to get out of there, away from prying eyes.

Professor Snape was making an announcement about the upcoming Potions exam and no one was looking her way. She couldn't tell if was her decision or not, but she took her opportunity and went out the door.

She wanted to find an empty classroom or even a bathroom. Anywhere there wouldn't be other people. But she could feel herself being pulled in a specific direction at the same time. She felt herself losing control and the fury it broke within in her only made the situation worse.

As a last-ditch effort, she reached into her bag, meaning to throw it into an empty classroom and seal the door shut. Run away and find someone, anyone who could help her destroy the little book.

The moment she seized the diary however, she knew she'd made the wrong decision. She should have just thrown the entire bag. That contact was all Tom needed. The cover opened just the slightest and the pages fluttered. She thought she dropped her bag. Maybe she fell over and passed out for a moment. Before she could determine if either happened, everything around her went black. Then once again, there was nothing.

: : : : :

She woke what felt like hours later.

She was in a long chamber held up with pillars. It was damp, cold, without natural light, and Ginny was starving. She felt as though she hadn't eaten in days. The walls seemed to be lined with some sort of greenish lighting that ran around the length of each side of the Chamber and was casting the entire underground place in a greenish haze.

She didn't know the slightest direction in which to go to get out but no sooner had she decided to explore and search for a way out than did she notice that the diary was nearby and the pages were moving back and forth and back and forth almost rhythmically.

Her first thought was to ditch the diary. Leave it here to rot where nobody would ever find it. As soon as she thought that however, she heard a mad laugh in her mind.

 _I agree, the diary can be left here to rot where nobody will ever find it . . . but it won't rot alone._

Ginny started to shake. She didn't know what to do or where to go. She was so hungry she thought she might just pass out again. She couldn't stand up any longer, she leaned against one of the pillars and slid down its side to sit down.

That's when she saw the pages of the diary stop flipping.

A dark bubble started to appear between the pages, Ginny tried to get a closer look but her eyesight was getting fuzzier. Her breathing was getting shallower. Something that eerily looked like hands were reaching out of the pages. The form was hoisting itself out of the book as though it were trying to get over a high wall.

She could no longer hold herself in a sitting position. She leaned down on her side, keeping her eyes on the diary. He was sitting on the ground now, extracting his legs from the pages. He wasn't whole, that much she could tell. She could see the outlines of the pillars through him, as though he were a ghost. Except he wasn't pearly-white like the ghosts of Hogwarts.

He stood up and walked over to her. He was close enough she could see him clearly now, though her eyesight was still growing fuzzier.

Her eyelids felt so heavy, she struggled to stay awake and watched as he slowly became less transparent. He didn't utter a single word. He just knelt, and watched as she fought to hold on. She knew she was going to black out again, not because of Tom possessing her this time, but from shear exhaustion fighting him from sapping her strength.

It didn't take very long. He knew when she'd finally reached her tipping point and he smiled.

Her last thought was that she was appalled at how handsome his smile made him.

Quotes:

(1) CoS Pages 284-285  
(2) CoS Page 285  
(3) CoS Page 285  
(4) CoS Page 286  
(5) CoS Page 286


	17. Chapter Seventeen: When It's Not A Dream

Chapter Seventeen: When It's Not a Dream

Ginny jerked awake. She knew immediately that she was still in the underground Chamber and she scrambled for her wand. Through her slightly blurred vision, she thought at first she was still alone with Tom Riddle. It took a moment for her vision to clear and to recognize, not Tom, but instead a familiar face with messy hair. A sliver of hope blossomed deep inside as she realized it was Harry Potter.

 **As Harry hurried toward her, she sat up. Her bemused eyes traveled from the huge form of the dead basilisk, over Harry, in his blood-soaked robes, then to the diary in his hand. She drew a great, shuddering gasp and tears began to pour down her face.**

" **Harry — oh, Harry — I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-** _ **couldn't**_ **say it in front of Percy — it was** _ **me**_ **, Harry — but I — I s-swear I d-didn't mean to — R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over — and —** _ **how**_ **did you kill that — that thing? W-Where's Riddle? The last thing I r-remember is him coming out of the diary —"**

" **It's all right," said Harry, holding up the diary, and showing Ginny the fang hole. "Riddle's finished. Look! Him and the basilisk. C'mon, Ginny, let's get out of here —"**

" **I'm going to be expelled!" Ginny wept as Harry helped her awkwardly to her feet. "I've looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I'll have to leave and —** _ **w-what'll Mum and Dad say**_ **?" (** **1)**

Harry didn't reply, but instead she felt him gently push her in the direction of the opposite end of the Chamber where a large, beautiful red bird was waiting for them to follow. Ginny looked again at his blood-soaked robes and wondered what had happened while she was out. Harry bent down and scooped up what looked like the school Sorting Hat, a very old goblin-made sword with large rubies set in it, and what remained of the diary.

Ginny stepped around the looped body of the monstrous snake and couldn't believe this was the creature that Riddle was using her to control and to attack her fellow students with. She vaguely how nobody saw it roaming around the school with her.

Harry led her into a dark tunnel where the floor was littered with the skeletons of small animals. Disconcerted as Ginny was to find herself crunching over the bones, she instantly decided anything was better than being stuck in that Chamber where the monstrous basilisk now lay.

It must be a trick, Ginny thought to herself. Riddle still has her under his control and now he's powerful enough he's brought her into some sort of dream and was cruelly letting her think that the one person she'd hope to find and save her had indeed done so. She no longer had the energy to try to fight Riddle mentally and drifted along behind Harry, tears still spilling down her face as she waited for the dream to stop.

They continued down the tunnel for a few minutes, and Ginny heard noises up ahead. She cringed inside, not ready for any other kind of unexpected adversary to present itself.

Harry on the other hand, perked up. **"Ron!" Harry yelled, speeding up. "Ginny's okay! I've got her!" (** **2)**

The two of them rounded a corner in the tunnel and there was Ron's face peeking through a gap in what looked like some sort of cave-in.

" _ **Ginny!"**_ **Ron thrust his arm through the gap in the rock to pull her through first. "You're alive! I don't believe it! What happened? How — what — where did that bird come from?"**

The large bird who had led them down the tunnel swooped through the gap after Ginny finished scrambling through.

" **He's Dumbledore's," said Harry, squeezing through himself.**

" **How come you've got a sword?" said Ron, gaping at the glittering weapon in Harry's hand.**

" **I'll explain when we get out of here," said Harry, with a sideways glance at Ginny. (** **3)**

" **But —"**

" **Later," said Harry shortly. (** **4)**

Ginny had finally believed that it wasn't some sort of hallucination trick by Riddle. There was no way Riddle would've known that Ron would ask those questions in exactly Ron fashion. Ron had pulled her into a protective hug and she had begun sobbing almost uncontrollably into his shoulder now that she knew it was really over.

This was real. She was going to get back to the outside. She was going to see the rest of her family and home and Hogwarts again.

" **Where's Lockhart?"**

" **Back there," said Ron, still looking puzzled but jerking his head up the tunnel toward the pipe. "He's in a bad way. Come and see."**

 **Led by** the bird, **whose wide scarlet wings emitted a soft golden glow in the darkness, they walked all the way back to the mouth of the pipe. Gilderoy Lockhart was sitting there, humming placidly to himself.**

" **His memory's gone," said Ron. "The Memory Charm backfired. Hit him instead of us. Hasn't got a clue who he is, or where he is, or who we are. I told him to come and wait here. He's a danger to himself."**

 **Lockhart peered good-naturedly up at them all.**

" **Hello," he said. "Odd sort of place, this, isn't it? Do you live here?"**

" **No," said Ron, raising his eyebrows at Harry. (** **5)**

Ginny stared at Lockhart surprised at first to see him part of the rescue mission and confused as to why he would've cast a Memory Charm only to have it backfire. When they passed the giant discarded snake skin in the tunnel however, it dawned on her.

A Memory Charm. So that's how he'd stolen other people's stories, and he tried to steal this one from Ron and Harry.

 **Harry bent down and looked up the long, dark pipe.**

" **Have you thought how we're going to get back up this?" he said to Ron.**

 **Ron shook his head, but the bird had swooped past Harry and was now fluttering in front of him, his beady eyes bright in the dark. He was waving his long golden tail feathers. Harry looked uncertainly at him.**

" **He looks like he wants you to grab hold . . ." said Ron, looking perplexed. "But you're much too heavy for a bird to pull up there —"**

" **Fawkes," said Harry, "isn't an ordinary bird." He turned quickly to the others. "We've got to hold onto each other. Ginny, grab Ron's hand. Professor Lockhart —"**

" **He means you," said Ron sharply to Lockhart.**

" **You hold Ginny's other hand —"**

 **Harry tucked the sword and the Sorting Hat into his belt, Ron took hold of the back of Harry's robes, and Harry reached out and took hold of Fawkes' tail feathers. (** **6)**

Professor Lockhart reached for Ginny's hand and she thought she would feel a sense of disgust or even revulsion but without the influence of Tom in the diary, the only emotion to bubble up was pity. She reached for his outstretched hand and a sense of lightness filled her. Then they were being carried upward through the pipe. Of all the overwhelming feelings so far today, flying through the air was the most welcome. It had been weeks since Ginny had been on a broom and hearing the rush of air was the first bit of normalcy she'd felt since waking up.

The grip Lockhart had on her hand tightened and even though it wasn't uncomfortable, his excitement was palpable with his exclamations: **"Amazing! Amazing! This is just like magic!" (** **7)**

The cool air was clearing Ginny's head and in the back of her mind she wondered if Lockhart would be able to make money by writing a book about an adventure that he actually took part in.

What felt like moments after it had begun, the ascent ended. The four of them landed in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and behind them, the sink with the tap that hadn't worked slid back over the entrance.

Another comprehension dawned on Ginny. How many times had she woken up looking into the mirror above that very sink? She had always assumed it was the mirror. A way for Tom in the diary to look Ginny in the eyes whenever he commanded her to forget anything she might have been awake for while he'd possessed her.

Instead it had been the sink. The very place Tom happened to be standing when he was no longer in control of the basilisk, having sent it home, and no longer needing to possess Ginny.

She looked around in the bathroom. This was it, she was really, finally free. She knew where she was now but she also knew that moving forward would officially mean facing the consequences. Her gaze flicked back to the sink and her earlier thoughts echoed in her mind. _Anything is better than staying in that Chamber._

She felt her eyes well up again, but this time they weren't from feelings of despair or relief. She had the absolute disappointment of Professor McGonagall, her mum, her dad, and everyone she knew ahead of her. They would think of her as nothing more than a pathetic little girl just like Tom had said.

 **Myrtle goggled at them.**

" **You're alive," she said blankly to Harry.**

" **There's no need to sound so disappointed," he said grimly, wiping flecks of blood and slime off his glasses.**

" **Oh, well . . . I'd just been thinking . . . if you had died, you'd have been welcome to share my toilet," said Myrtle, blushing silver.**

" **Urgh!" said Ron as they left the bathroom for the dark, deserted corridor outside. Harry! I think Myrtle's grown** _ **fond**_ **of you! You've got competition Ginny!"**

 **But tears were still flooding silently down Ginny's face. (** **8)**

She was concentrating on what she could possibly say to get her mum and dad to trust her again, what she could possibly say to convince Professor McGonagall to let her stay at Hogwarts.

She didn't blush or even acknowledge Ron's attempt to lighten the tension. Even with the defeat of Tom Riddle and the basilisk it seemed both Ron and Harry were anxious about possibly being in trouble with Professor McGonagall themselves.

" **Where now?" said Ron, with an anxious look at Ginny. Harry pointed.**

 **Fawkes was leading the way, glowing gold along the corridor. They strode after him, and moments later found themselves outside Professor McGonagall's office.**

 **Harry knocked and pushed the door open. (** **9)**

Quotes:

(1) CoS Pages 322-323  
(2) CoS Page 323  
(3) CoS Pages 323-324  
(4) CoS Page 324  
(5) CoS Page 324  
(6) CoS Pages 324-325  
(7) CoS Page 325  
(8) CoS Page 325-326  
(9) CoS Page 326


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Percy's Penance

**Dear Reader: Chapter One's re-write is posted. It has the same information and tells the story similarly, I re-wrote it simply to make it energetic from the get go. If you haven't read the re-write, I implore you do so. It was updated early March 2017 so if you started this story after this, you started with the re-write.** **  
**

Chapter Eighteen: Percy's Penance

 **For a moment there was silence as Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart stood in the doorway, covered in muck and slime and (in Harry's case) blood. Then there was a scream.**

" _ **Ginny!"**_ **(** **1)**

Professor McGonagall had been in the middle of consoling her mum and dad after giving them the news that she'd been taken by the Heir. They both scrambled from their seats and rushed to her side and wrapped her between themselves. They stayed smooshed together that way for only a few moments and then her mum broke away to drag Ron and Harry into the hug as well.

" **You saved her! You saved her!** _ **How**_ **did you do it?"**

" **I think we'd all like to know that," said Professor McGonagall weakly. (** **2)**

After her mother loosened her grip, Ginny saw Professor Dumbledore was also in the office. Ginny's dad walked her over to a chair and indicated for her to sit down while her mum let go of Harry and Ron. Harry walked over to Professor McGonagall's desk where he laid the Sorting Hat, the sword, and the diary.

Ginny's tears slowed to a silent trickle as she listened to Harry's version of what happened to Riddle. She listened as he told everyone in the room about hearing a voice nobody could see all year long. She was amazed when Harry had explained how Hermione had figured out that the Heir's monster was a giant snake which had been roaming the school through the plumbing. She listened to Harry's story of how he and Ron followed Hagrid's hint and went into the forest where the spiders were fleeing. How they had snuck down to Hagrid's hut in the first place.

Her tears had nearly subsided by the time Harry detailed his and Ron's account of learning that a girl had died from Aragog, how they'd figured out it was Moaning Myrtle, and that the entrance to the Chamber might be in her bathroom.

" **Very well," Professor McGonagall prompted him as he paused, "so you found out where the entrance was — breaking a hundred school rules into pieces along the way, I might add — but how on** _ **earth**_ **did you all get out of there alive, Potter?" (** **3)**

Here it comes, thought Ginny, and she felt the silent tears start up again. He's got to tell them about the diary now. She drew her knees up to her chest and let her head sink down onto them to make herself as small as possible in her chair.

Harry explained all about Fawkes the Phoenix's arrival and how he dropped the Sorting Hat in his lap. Even with the flow of tears slowing down her face, her eyes widened when Harry explained how the sword had appeared inside the Sorting Hat and how he had used it to defeat Riddle's basilisk.

Ginny waited for the truth to drop. She waited for the incredulous stares. She waited for accusatory tones for bringing this danger to Hogwarts in the first place. She waited for Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore to share a look and for them to deliberate before deciding to expel her.

Harry had been brave, and told them all exactly what he did whether it was against the rules or not and he did so unflinchingly. Ginny leaned her head on her mum's shoulder, who had come to stand beside her, and took a deep breath. If Harry was willing to face his wrong doings, then Ginny would be as well. Harry paused in his story and glanced at her before looking in Professor Dumbledore's direction. This is it, she thought. It's happening now. She braced herself internally for the worst.

" **What interests** _ **me**_ **most," said Dumbledore gently, "is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently hiding in the forests of Albania." (** **4)**

" **W-what's that?" said** Ginny's dad **in a stunned voice. "** _ **You-Know-Who?**_ **En-enchant** _ **Ginny**_ **? But Ginny's not . . . she hasn't been . . . has she?"**

Ginny looked up at Dumbledore in disbelief. What on earth did _Voldemort_ have to do with this?

" **It was this diary," said Harry quickly, picking it up and showing it to Dumbledore. "Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen. . . ."**

 **Dumbledore took the diary from Harry and peered keenly down his long, crooked nose at its burnt and soggy pages.**

" **Brilliant," he said softly. "Of course, he was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen. He turned around to** Ginny's family, **who were utterly bewildered.**

" **Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself, fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving school . . . traveled far and wide . . . sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."**

" **But Ginny," said** her mum. **"What's our Ginny got to do with — with —** _ **him**_ **?"**

Everything fell into place. Why Tom had become so angry and obsessed with Harry when he found out about Harry's defeat of You-Know-Who. She even remembered hearing that Voldemort had been the one hunting the unicorns and the foal must have recognized him in the diary somehow.

" **His d-diary!" Ginny sobbed. "I've b-been writing in it, and he's been w-writing back all year —"**

" _ **Ginny!**_ **" said** her dad, **flabbergasted. "Haven't I taught you** _ **anything**_ **? What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself** _ **if you can't see where it keeps its brain.**_ **Why didn't you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was** _ **clearly**_ **full of Dark Magic —"**

" **I d-didn't know," sobbed Ginny. "I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it —"**

" **Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away," Dumbledore interrupted in a firm voice. "This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than her have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort." He strode over to the door and opened it. "Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up," he added, twinkling kindly down at her.**

Ginny was speechless. She thought about all the victims lying Petrified in the hospital wing. No punishment?

As if he could read her mind, Professor Dumbledore mentioned them next. **"You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice — I daresay the basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment."**

" **So Hermione's okay!" said Ron brightly.**

" **There's has been no lasting harm done, Ginny," said Dumbledore.**

Her mum **led Ginny out, and** her father **followed, still looking deeply shaken. (** **5)** They left Ron behind, who was no worse for the wear after going through the entrance to the Chamber in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

It was difficult to process. She'd been taking advice, getting help on her homework, and absorbing the negative emotions from _Lord Voldemort_. She was still reeling from the idea.

In the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey already had hot chocolate sitting on a tea cart. Ginny was ushered by her parents to a bed near where Colin was still lying Petrified, her mum and dad sat down on either side of her. The ornate cauldron that had been bubbling away next to Professor Snape's desk the past few weeks was sitting on a rolling cart near the door.

Madam Pomfrey bustled in, "I was just alerted! Taken into the Chamber itself, Merlin's beard! Here, dear, have some hot chocolate. It'll make you feel better. I daresay, you've been missing for hours, we'll get you something to eat in a bit. Professor McGonagall is alerting the kitchens now to start a feast for dinner."

Ginny sipped on the hot chocolate and a feeling of calmness coursed through her, chasing away the last shadows of fear and doubt still lingering in her mind.

Just then both Professors Snape and Sprout came into the hospital wing. Professor Sprout handed Professor Snape a large vial full of a transparent green liquid. It looked like thick syrup and indeed when Professor Snape poured its contents into the sickly orange potion inside the cauldron it spilled out quite slowly.

"Don't waste that now," breathed Professor Sprout, "it took me the whole of today to procure that much from the Mandrakes."

Professor Snape only gave a look of contempt as he finished pouring the Mandrake juice. The froth from the within the cauldron turned from its sickly orange color to a vibrant green as Professor Snape carefully stirred it with the matching ornate ladle. When he finished, he turned to Madam Pomfrey and gave a curt nod, then he swept from the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey carefully ladled the finished potion into a goblet and as she did so, Professors McGonagall and Flitwick entered the hospital wing closely followed by the caretaker Argus Filch. They went to stand with Professor Sprout who was anxiously waiting for Justin Finch-Fletchy to wake up.

Madam Pomfrey went first to Mrs. Norris. She carefully tipped the goblet towards the cat's mouth and waited. It took only moments. Mrs. Norris woke with a start and immediately pulled away from Madam Pomfrey's arms. She leaped a few steps away and then shook herself from head to tail.

"My cat!" Filch picked up Mrs. Norris.

"Well, she seems to be in order," said Madam Pomfrey, carefully pouring another goblet full. "I'd have Professor Kettleburn do a thorough check on her to be sure," she said to Filch. Filch nodded and carried her out of the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey went to the bed of the nearest student, the Ravenclaw prefect. Professor Flitwick moved forward to retrieve her when she awakened. After Madam Pomfrey administered the potion, Penelope woke with a start. She looked around and seemed confused at first but Professor Flitwick calmly reassured her.

Madam Pomfrey moved to the next bed containing Justin Finch-Fletchy. Professor Sprout went and sat next to his bed while the potion was slowly trickled into his mouth. She had a fierce look in her eyes while she waited for him to respond and Ginny remembered her words, " _. . . even if it takes the might of the entire House of Hufflepuff we will make_ sure _Justin catches up. . ._ "

Justin woke just as suddenly as Mrs. Norris and Penelope had, he sat up with a frightened glance around and then calmed down when he realized he was in the hospital wing. Professor Sprout began explaining things to him in a quiet voice and he slowly leaned back into his pillows.

Hermione was in the next bed. She too woke with a start. She found Professor McGonagall and began trying to expound everything she knew to her at once, "It's a basilisk! The monster, Slytherin's monster, it's a basilisk. It all fits —"

"Miss Granger —" began Professor McGonagall.

"That's why only Harry's been hearing voices, it was a snake in the pipes —"

"Miss Granger —"

"Hagrid says roosters were —"

"It's all been dealt with Miss Granger."

"You can't look it directly in the eyes, and no one died because they didn't —"

"Miss Granger, the basilisk is dead."

Hermione stopped looking anxious and she looked like she was holding back hope. "Dead?"

"Dead," repeated Professor McGonagall.

"How?"

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley found your note clutched in your hand earlier today. Mr. Potter killed the basilisk himself."

"Harry killed —" Hermione cut herself off and leaned back into her own pillows. "They figured it out?"

Professor McGonagall gave her a rare smile, "They read your note in the very least."

Ginny's parents went to console Hermione and Ginny heard her mum invite her to come stay at the Burrow for a few weeks over the summer.

The next bed belonged to Nearly-Headless Nick. Madam Pomfrey had measured out the next goblet and seemed unsure of herself as she approached him.

"Allow me, Poppy," said Professor McGonagall. With a flick of her wand she transfigured the potion inside the goblet into a cloud and let it slowly settle over the figure of Nearly-Headless Nick. Ginny wasn't quite sure what happened but somehow the ghost absorbed the cloud and woke as if from a nap. Unlike the others, he didn't wake with a start.

Nearly-Headless Nick blinked and slowly looked around at everyone. "A monstrous snake with yellow eyes . . . a basilisk then? Foul, evil creatures they are. Well, is there a plan to get rid of it?"

"The basilisk has been dealt with, Sir Nicholas," assured Professor McGonagall as Madam Pomfrey looked him over.

"Excellent, I'll be free to go then I expect?"

Madam Pomfrey usually didn't let her charges go until she was absolutely certain they were healthy again. In the case of Sir Nicholas however, there weren't any vitals to check. Madam Pomfrey waved him away and moved on to the last bed. Nearly-Headless Nick floated up from his berth and glided through the wall out of the hospital wing.

Colin was in the last bed, closest to Ginny. Madam Pomfrey ladled the emptying restorative potion into the last goblet. She carefully held the cup to Colin's lips and let the potion slide into his mouth. Colin jerked awake. He looked around and his eyes lit up at first when he spotted Ginny, but then his eyebrows drew together and he looked away again.

Ginny realized the last thing he remembered was their fight in the common room.

Colin turned to face the rest of the room and looked puzzled to see so many other faces. When he noticed Professor McGonagall he bowed his head.

"Something happened after I snuck out? Didn't it Professor?"

"Yes, Mr. Creevey. You've been Petrified."

Colin face was still pointed at his lap, but he glanced up with his eyes with a sheepish expression.

"Am I in trouble for being out after curfew?"

Professor McGonagall nodded, "The usual punishment is detention and points lost."

"He's been Petrified for months!" exclaimed Ginny.

" _Ginny!_ " scolded her mum.

"Months?" said Colin. His eyes widened at the news but a determined look grew on his face nevertheless.

Professor McGonagall also gave Ginny a scolding glance, but let her mother's admonishment stand.

"I'll serve the detention. I was still caught sneaking out."

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows. "Serving the detention was never an option, it had already been discussed at length," she clipped, "but welcome back all the same, Mr. Creevey. Details of your detention will be sent to you. I trust you are in good hands," she glanced in Ginny's direction who nodded in reply.

"Miss Granger, will you be needing me?" Hermione shook her head at Professor McGonagall. "You all may come down to the feast after Madam Pomfrey releases you."

No sooner did she leave the hospital wing than Ron came in with Lockhart in tow.

"Professor!" exclaimed Hermione and Colin perked up as well. Lockhart gave them a toothy grin, while Ginny's mum gave Ron another welcoming hug.

"Sure is a busy night," commented Madam Pomfrey. "Well, Professor," she addressed Lockhart, "what's wrong with the boy?" she asked while looking Ron over.

Hermione looked at Ron full of concern.

Lockhart looked perplexed at Madam Pomfrey. "I found him in a cave."

Ron rolled his eyes, "He's lost his memory ma'am. A Memory Charm he cast backfired."

Madam Pomfrey widened her eyes, "I'll see what I can do."

Hermione and Colin both looked askance that Lockhart had lost his memory and found Ron in a cave. "What cave? How did he lose his memory?" Hermione hissed to Ron after Madam Pomfrey led him away.

"He was supposed to be finding Ginny, but Harry and I caught him running away," Ginny noticed her mum glare daggers at Lockhart when Ron said that. "He tried to erase our memories but he used my wand and it backfired. We always knew he was a fraud!" Ron whispered so Madam Pomfrey and Lockhart wouldn't overhear.

"Why was he supposed to find Ginny?" Hermione asked, changing the subject.

Ron told her the short version of the story that Harry had told Professor Dumbledore. Colin, Justin, and the Penelope listened earnestly. Colin flicked his gaze towards Ginny when Ron got to the part of the diary but didn't interrupt.

Finally, Madam Pomfrey gave all the students, including Ginny one last check over and proclaimed them fit to leave for the feast. Ginny and Ron gave their mum and dad a farewell hug before they left for the Great Hall with Colin and Hermione where everyone was in their pajamas and they all found seats near Harry and the twins.

Hermione ran to Harry screaming **"You solved it! You solved it!" (6)** and Colin was bombarded with questions from the other first-years, except by Emerson Faulkner who was clearly distraught but still did his best to join in the celebration of the returned students. Justin Finch-Fletchy came over after the first few courses had been served and personally apologized to Harry for thinking he was the Heir and Ron got to repeat the story of how he and Harry figured out where Slytherin's monster had lived all this time.

Everyone seemed to be glossing over Ginny being taken over by the diary at first but eventually the connection between her being taken into the Chamber and her being the one setting the monster loose on the other students was made. At first, she assumed they would think the worst, but once Harry insisted that it was the diary of Lord Voldemort, Ginny received nothing but sympathy and some of the students were even in a sort of awe of her for having survived his plan.

The feast lasted all night. Hagrid burst through the entry door well after three in the morning and sometime near dawn Professor McGonagall announced that end of the year exams had been officially cancelled as a school treat. Professor Dumbledore joined the celebration intermittently and on one of those occasions announced that Professor Lockhart would not be returning the following year to which there was both much celebration and surprisingly just as much sorrow.

The younger students began falling asleep at the table and everyone started slowly trickling to their separate dormitories throughout the school to sleep during the warmth and security of the summer sunshine.

Ginny had eaten so much at the feast after being starved the entire day she slept the longest and it was only after she had woken up did she find out that all of her fellow Gryffindor girls and even Hermione had taken turns to check on her periodically after they themselves woke in the early afternoon.

Ginny felt stiff and groggy at first and wanted to stumble downstairs to see Colin right away but her mum's words drilled into her head had her sitting in front of her desk carefully brushing out her hair and making sure she looked presentable first. She found him sitting in a far corner, where the owlery box once stood, conversing quietly with Emerson.

The two of them looked at her with solemn expressions as she approached.

"What's wrong?"

"The Livestock Lodge burned down yesterday," replied Colin, looking empathetically at Emerson.

"What?" exclaimed Ginny.

"It happened around the time your brother and Harry disappeared and were rescuing you," said Emerson sullenly. "I was there. Professor Kettleburn had been fumbling a lot lately with the creatures and some of the fire-dwelling salamanders got away from him. I wasn't allowed to help him because they're for fourth years, and he chased one of them all the way up to the loft where the straw and hay are kept. It must have been carrying an ember or a smoldering stick or something because next thing we know the whole building is ablaze and Professor McGonagall was stuck in her office talking to your parents."

"Why didn't anybody say anything about this yesterday?" asked Ginny incredulously.

"I mean, it was happening around the same time all the students were told to go to their common rooms and the teachers told to go to the staff room. I had snuck down to the Livestock Lodge to spend more time with the foal before we let him go. You were missing and that was . . . just more important," Emerson trailed off. "Besides, once the animals were rescued the fire was put out pretty easily, just not in enough time to save the Lodge."

"What happened to the foal? What happened to the other animals?" asked Ginny urgently.

"Professor Kettleburn and I managed to rescue them all and we put them in Hagrid's hut. He wasn't home yet but Professor Kettleburn said he wouldn't mind." Emerson paused, "I think this was a last straw for Professor Kettleburn."

"Why?"

"He kept saying that this never would have happened if he had retired last year like he'd planned, that he wouldn't have lost his arm the year before if he'd retired the year before that. He'd been mumbling for a while now that he was officially going to do it this year."

Emerson looked crushed. Ginny knew that Professor Kettleburn was the teacher he had grown closest to and now he might be abandoned.

"He grumbled about retiring over Christmas break too. Are they going to rebuild the Livestock Lodge?" asked Ginny.

"Professor Kettleburn says that'll be up to the next Professor. I think he really is going to retire."

"Emerson said Professor Kettleburn is going to make up his mind after he finishes treating the animals he's taking care of," said Colin.

Emerson stood up, deliberately avoiding eye contact with either of them. "We're releasing the foal in a little while. If you're coming, I'll see you there." He'd spoken in a constricted voice and had continued to avoid looking at them in a move Ginny had seen many times used by her brothers when they were on the verge of tears. He crossed the common room and headed out the portrait hole.

"I suppose we should try to find Ash," said Ginny. "I told Emerson I would tell her she was invited by Professor Kettleburn but I didn't exactly get the chance yesterday."

"She's going to be there," said Colin matter-of-factly.

Ginny gave him a puzzled look.

"Emerson mentioned the foal when I caught up with the guys in my dorm at the feast last night and said she was invited. When you went to bed with everyone else, I stayed behind and met up with Ash. We went to the library and caught up on everything I missed."

He looked at Ginny determinedly, "Ash never intended for anyone to ever see that poem. Gwendelyn found it days after she accidentally picked it up, and at first, she thought _Ash_ admired Harry Potter, but Kindra figured it out. She realized Ash was protecting you and she made Gwendelyn send the valentine to Harry. It was either that or be outcast from her group for forever. Gwendelyn chose to stay in the group."

"Ash has been on your side during that whole mess," said Colin, "even while you've been pushing her away. I can tell she misses you, but you know she's not the sort to go chasing after a person who doesn't want anything to do with her."

Normally, this was where Ginny would find her anger flaring up and when every reason she should abandon her friendship with Ash would bubble to mind. However, she found that without the diary's subtle influence, there was very little anger left for her to give. Searching her feelings, she found only sadness, and regret.

"I should apologize to her."

"My dad would say that's a good start," said Colin.

Ginny smiled, thinking of little Dennis and Mr. Creevey. "I spent Christmas with your dad and your brother you know."

It was Colin's turn to give a puzzled expression.

"They came to Hogwarts to spend Christmas with you."

"I thought you were going to go to Egypt."

"Plans changed."

"Are we okay?" she asked. "I mean, before you were Petrified, we had a pretty big row."

"Ash told me that you visited me and what you told her when you did, but you were right, it wasn't safe for me to go out after curfew."

Ginny shook her head, "No, you were right. I was protecting Harry from you. I'm sorry. Besides," she grinned, "obviously, if I had gone with you then I wouldn't have been furiously writing to Tom, and I wouldn't have gotten possessed, and you wouldn't have been Petrified."

Colin grinned back, "I guess we're okay, since you admitted you should have just gone with me," he paused before looking up at Ginny directly. "I promise to be less embarrassing around Harry. That way you won't have to feel like you need to protect him from me."

They headed down to the grounds where many students were enjoying the last of the day's sunshine and made their way to Hagrid's hut. Ash was already down there, standing near Emerson, watching Professor Kettleburn leading the foal outside.

Ginny walked over to the foal and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you for warning me about Tom," she whispered before letting him go and stepping back.

Hagrid came out of the forest and behind him was a pure white adult mare unicorn. Ginny's eyes widened. She'd never seen anything so beautiful, it's innocence palpable even from a distance.

The adult pricked its ears at the sight of the foal and nickered softly. The foal perked up at the sound and let out a loud whinny in answer.

Professor Kettleburn called Emerson over, "Faulkner! Come get this harness off this guy."

Emerson walked over and gave the foal a scratch between the ears, but the foal didn't seem to notice; his attention all on the fully grown adult waiting at the edge of the forest. Em reached up and released the buckle under the foal's left ear.

The foal bowed his head and with a quick shake flicked it off, then he raced to the side of the female. He stopped short right in front of her and they lifted their heads together to blow in each other's noses.

Ginny waited with bated breath. She'd seen the horses in the neighbor's pasture interact this way with the old mare. If she bared her teeth the other horse would jerk away and quickly distance themselves. If the old mare pricked her ears forward and nodded her head up and down, they would race around the pasture together in play for a short time.

It only took a moment, the unicorn mare pricked her ears and both her and the foal tossed their heads up and down a few times before racing off into the Forbidden Forest and disappearing behind a thicket. Gone in an instant.

"I was un-realistically expecting him to turn back and give us one last farewell look," said Ash.

Ginny and Colin burst out laughing.

"Me too," said Ginny. She caught Ash's eye and saw they were glistening with unshed tears.

When she looked around at everyone else, Colin seemed more curious than sad, Emerson's face was slightly red but otherwise his face showed no expression. Professor Kettleburn had a faraway look in his eye almost as though he could still see the foal running off to be with the rest of the herd, and Hagrid had full on tears leaking down his face and disappearing into his beard.

Ash took a deep breath, blinked, and her eyes cleared. "I mean, is he going to be okay?"

"The mare took to him, she'll get him accepted with the rest of her herd," replied Professor Kettleburn.

Ash nodded reluctantly.

"Sometimes, you just have to believe," said Colin consolingly.

"Are you really leaving, sir?" Emerson asked Professor Kettleburn.

"Aye, I'll be talking to Professor Dumbledore later this evening."

"Yeh'll be missed," said Hagrid heavily. "An' we won' have time ter design or build a new lodge fer the animals while we wait fer a replacemen'."

"The Headmaster will have it all under control, I'm sure," said Professor Kettleburn.

Ginny thought about the way Professor Dumbledore had summed up how nothing she had done while under the influence of Tom in the diary had any lasting effects; she was sure he would have it under control too. Not that things weren't still a mess needing cleaned up. She glanced over at Colin, the person she'd Petrified for the longest, not including Filch's cat.

The three of them said their good-byes to Hagrid and Professor Kettleburn. Emerson chose to stay to help sort out the remaining hospitalized animals from the fire.

Ginny, Colin, and Ash walked towards the lake.

"Dennis invited me to visit you and your family this summer," she turned to Ash, "I'm sure you're welcome too. They were disappointed they couldn't meet you over Christmas."

"I'm sure my parents wouldn't allow it," said Ash listlessly.

"I won't be home at all this summer anyway," said Colin.

Both Ash and Ginny stopped short so Colin, who had been walking in the middle and slightly ahead of both of them, had to turn around to face them.

"What do you mean?" asked Ginny.

"I'm staying here. At Hogwarts. For the whole summer. To catch up." He spoke in short phrases to answer their blank looks. "A few days ago, I was just trying Wingardium Leviosa for the first time. I missed almost a whole year. Both Justin and I are staying. The professors are going to work around the clock to get us caught up before September first so we don't have to be held back a year."

"What about Hermione Granger and Penelope Clearwater?" asked Ash.

"They only missed a couple of weeks," said Colin. "Penelope is a Ravenclaw and Hermione is Hermione. They're already catching up and end of the year exams were cancelled so all they have to do is prove their knowledge on what they missed."

"I was looking forward to visiting," said Ginny.

"Would your parents have let you?" asked Ash timidly.

Ginny stopped and thought about how her parents might react to her asking to visit Colin and his dad and brother. She was their only girl, and only her mum had met them for a very short time.

"Maybe not."

"We'll write," said Ash turning back to Colin.

"Of course, we'll write," said Ginny.

Colin flicked his eyes back and forth between the two of them and smiled. "You'll write to each other too?"

Ginny nodded and Ash replied with a simple, "Yes." She caught Ginny's eye and Ginny knew her answer was honest.

The three of them spent their last few days together as much as possible. The tension in the relationship between Ash and Ginny slowly loosened and when it was just her and Colin in the Gryffindor common room Ginny found she was actually able to laugh again.

Gwendelyn approached the three of them in the library once and told Ginny the whole story of how she had found the poem and was going to give it back but had made Kindra angry and caved and gave it to her to get back into her good graces.

"Kindra tried to use the information to get close to Pansy Parkinson. It backfired though. Pansy told Draco who told her it was old news . . . in front of everyone. Pansy got really mad at Kindra and that's why Kindra pushed me away for a little while."

"Draco called me Harry's girlfriend last summer," said Ginny. "I was telling Malfoy off but since he said it so long ago, to him it's old news. It's stupid that someone can use untrue information as a weapon to put someone else down, just because they were aware of it first."

"Said the _Weasley_ girl," replied Gwendelyn who seemed offended at Ginny's flippant comment.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Ginny heatedly.

"Weasley may be at the bottom of the old family names, but it's still above mine. _You_ have the power to say anything you want is stupid."

Ash stepped forward, "That has _nothing_ to do with —"

Ginny put up a hand to stop her. She had felt her anger flare up, but once again it was noticeably diminished compared to when she had written to Tom in the diary.

"I think that's the first real thing you've ever said to me and haven't just repeated from someone else."

Gwendelyn held her ground for the first time all year. She didn't stand up to her fullest height, but she didn't wilt in front of the combined stances of Ginny and Ash together either. She was backing up her own words, for the first time.

"Regardless," continued Ginny calmly, "Kindra is a bully. Nobody needs that, including you."

"I get what you're saying," Gwendelyn grimaced.

"Then why do you put up with her? Ash is a Burke, why do you need Kindra?"

"Life is easier when you're on Kindra's side," said Gwen simply.

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"I gotta go before she finds me." Gwendelyn turned around and quickly walked away before Ginny could think of a reply to change her mind.

: : : : :

The last day of term, students were milling around the Hogsmeade station and Ginny and Colin were waiting for first-years to be allowed to board. Ginny was watching Ash who was some distance away, trapped with her brother's arm around her not unlike Harry had been last summer with Lockhart in Flourish and Blotts.

Ash was putting on a much better front than Harry had however. She kept a fake smile plastered on her face, her eyes bright, and she laughed at her brother's jokes when it was appropriate. Draco Malfoy and two of his fellow second-years, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson, approached the group Ash was being kept in with her brother and Draco held his own with the older students and their banter.

Kindra tried to push her way close to Pansy and Ginny had the satisfaction of watching Pansy slightly turn sideways and keep her butted out of the core group. Kindra looked put out but she didn't give up. Next, she tried to wend her way close to Pansy's friend, Daphne Greengrass.

So the cycle continues, thought Ginny. Next year there will be a new crop of first-years and Kindra will no longer have to scramble like she is now. With no older siblings, like Ash to bring her into the center of the fold, and no prestige like the Malfoys, she had to work extra hard for a spot to be included, but next year there would be some other first-year in her position and Kindra would be the experienced older student.

Ginny knew Kindra was too wrapped up in what she was doing to realize Ginny was watching her struggle, and Ginny chose to look away before Kindra caught on. For a split-second she had nearly felt sorry for her, but then glanced in Colin's direction, who'd been taking pictures of the students and the Hogwarts Express, and she remembered how Kindra had spilled doxy eggs just to pick on him.

Colin spotted Ron, Harry, and Hermione making their way onto the train, surrounded by other second-years. Ginny waited for Colin to get excited and to drag her over to them, but he held true to his word. He didn't do anything to gain Harry's attention, neither on purpose nor on accident.

Ginny felt like so much had changed, she couldn't even recognize the memory of herself from the previous summer, let alone her naïve views of the world she had once held.

Last year her worries were whether or not she would get her letter, if her mum and dad could afford to buy her a pet, how Ron's life was affected by being Harry Potter's friend. None of that mattered now.

Harry Potter had saved her life. She was invested in his well-being, now and forever, just as much as Ron, no matter how it affected her own life. Ron's friendship with him affecting her brother's way of life was a simple given.

Late at night after the other girls in her dorm had fallen asleep and Ginny was finally alone with her thoughts, she'd often pondered these last few days of term on how engrossed a mere memory version of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had become at getting to Harry, and at some point came to the definitive conclusion that the real Voldemort — she'd faced him she thought to herself, she should be able to think his name — the real Voldemort would be back and he would be far more tenacious at getting rid of Harry.

A war was coming, she realized. She didn't know when, but she knew it was inevitable. She also knew how Voldemort thought, she knew his ruthlessness, and she knew the strength it would take to beat him. It terrified her to think that her family was at risk but knowing they would do anything to help protect not just Harry but wizards everywhere, gave her the resolve to face her fear of him.

The real Voldemort would never know how she had once beat his sixteen-year-old self and got rid of the box he'd slammed around her psyche. He would never know how well she knew him and his way of using words to manipulate others. He would never know that she would personally never underestimate his callousness.

Waiting in line, Ginny realized that her knowledge of Voldemort's mind was a major advantage.

She prepared to board the Hogwarts express with the largest smile she'd worn since classes first began. It was bigger than when she'd been sorted into Gryffindor, bigger even than when she'd scored her first goal in Quidditch Scrimmage.

It didn't go unnoticed by Colin.

"Happy to see your mum and dad later?"

She didn't know how to explain her newfound realization and settled with a simple, "Yes." She then wondered how long it would take for her improved skill of evading, curtesy of Tom in the diary, would take to stop feeling natural.

"There's Ash," said Colin, standing on tip-toe to try to see above the crowd. Ash had finally broken out of her brother's grip. "I'll help you guys find a carriage before I head back to the castle," he said after Ash walked up.

"That's okay," Ash said. "I'm going to ride back with my brother."

Ginny looked taken aback. "Why?"

"I'm still angry," said Ash truthfully. "I'm wasn't going to chase after someone who didn't want to talk to me, but . . . I didn't deserve to be shut out for that long either."

Ginny looked down at her shoes, "I'm sorry. I was focused on getting the diary back so it couldn't hurt anyone else. I swear that's the only reason I didn't try to make things right."

Ash rolled her eyes, "I can't believe you ever thought you might not be a Gryffindor when here is a prime example of you trying to save everyone in the whole school." She picked up the handle of her trunk, "Look, I promised to write and I will. But I'm riding the train home with my brother. Have a good summer," she said as she glanced between the two of them.

Ginny couldn't help herself after the Gryffindor remark, "So you wouldn't have tried to get it back at all?"

Ash stopped and marched back.

"I would have done the sensible thing and told a teacher. Which is exactly what I would've told you to do, if you had ever bothered to mention it to me in the first place."

Ginny was speechless.

Ash took the opportunity to march away again.

"Come on," said Colin quietly. "Let's find you a place on the train."

The twins were coming out of one of the train's doors. "This way little sister," said Fred as George scooped her trunk handle out of her hand. They both gave Colin a slight nod before disappearing to their claimed compartment.

"Guess I'm riding back with my brothers too," said Ginny.

"Have a good summer," said Colin.

"Try to find some time to practice flying in between all the homework."

Colin grinned.

Ginny had just as great of a train ride home as she'd had on the way to Hogwarts. It was nice to be around just family. Including not only Harry, but Hermione as well she thought. Those three really were inseparable.

 **They made the most of the last few hours in which they were allowed to do magic before the holidays. They played Exploding Snap, set off the last of Fred and George's Filibuster fireworks, and practiced Disarming each other by magic. Harry was getting very good at it.**

 **They were almost at King's Cross when Harry remembered something.**

" **Ginny — what did you see Percy doing, that he didn't want you to tell anyone?"**

" **Oh, that," said Ginny, giggling. "Well — Percy's got a** _ **girlfriend**_ **."**

 **Fred dropped a stack of books on George's head.**

" _ **What?**_ **"**

" **It's that Ravenclaw prefect, Penelope Clearwater," said Ginny. "That's who he was writing to all last summer. He's been meeting her all over the school in secret. I walked in on them** _ **kissing**_ **in an empty classroom one day. He was so upset when she was — you know — attacked. You won't tease him, will you?"** she hoped she'd managed to make that last bit sound anxious. She really wanted to drive in the idea of torturing Percy after he'd broken their deal.

" **Wouldn't dream of it," said Fred, who was looking like his birthday had come early.**

" **Definitely not," said George, sniggering.** **(7)  
**

Quotes:

(1) CoS Page 327  
(2) CoS Page 327  
(3) CoS Page 328  
(4) CoS Page 328  
(5) CoS Pages 329-330 *Changes made include referring to Ginny and her family from her point of view rather than Harry's.  
(6) CoS Page 339  
(7) CoS Page 340-341 *Changed the quote from Harry's perspective to Ginny's which allowed room for an inner thought process.

 **A/N:** **Thank you to everyone who has stayed with me for the entire duration this past year and a half, who waded through the rough waters of those initial chapters during this first foray into writing for me and well into these much more polished chapters I am quite proud of today. I've immensely enjoyed learning the writing and story crafting processes with this exercise of writing from another character's perspective, and in doing a few more of these sorts of stories I feel like I will finally be able to properly give voice to an original story of my own. I appreciate each and every reader who's given Ginny's story a shot and I adore every one of you who've made it this far. Much love and remember! Always choose love. -Rissa.**


End file.
